Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,890 shares of the company’s stock after selling 308 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Sysco by 11.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,617,000 after buying an additional 2,721,449 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at $137,900,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 52.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,719,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,666,000 after acquiring an additional 933,327 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,874,000 after acquiring an additional 672,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth $44,722,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sysco Price Performance

SYY opened at $74.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.72 and a 200-day moving average of $75.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $69.03 and a 1-year high of $82.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $519,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,876,080. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,747,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,581 shares in the company, valued at $4,846,480. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,370 shares of company stock worth $5,965,519 over the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYY has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Melius started coverage on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.77.

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.