Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 307 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 307 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sysco by 1,240.0% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Sysco during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius began coverage on Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.79.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY opened at $73.71 on Friday. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $69.03 and a 52 week high of $82.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The stock has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.88.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. Sysco’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,747,520.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,846,480. The trade was a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Company Profile

Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and distribution of various food and related products to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and Other segments.