Covington Capital Management Decreases Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Covington Capital Management lowered its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY – Get Rating) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 228 shares during the period. Covington Capital Management’s holdings in Sysco were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYY. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sysco by 166.0% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 10,065 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 258,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,068,000 after acquiring an additional 16,772 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 2,522 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 659,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,865,000 after acquiring an additional 6,711 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 54.8% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 833 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE SYY opened at $74.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $37.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.20, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $77.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.20. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $70.61 and a 1-year high of $91.53.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.84 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $18.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.59 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 1.93% and a return on equity of 140.94%. The business’s revenue was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 6th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 5th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Sysco from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a report on Friday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Sysco from $96.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on Sysco from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Sysco from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.67.

Sysco Profile

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Sysco Corp. engages in selling, marketing, and distribution of food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, and lodging establishments. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and Other. The U.S. Foodservice Operations consists of U.S.