American Century Companies Inc. Sells 124,655 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,797,704 shares of the company’s stock after selling 124,655 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $128,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth about $683,599,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 4th quarter valued at about $450,794,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Sysco by 112.8% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,612,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,770,000 after purchasing an additional 3,504,740 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the first quarter worth approximately $178,824,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Sysco by 132.9% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,653,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,177,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084,501 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE:SYY opened at $76.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $62.24 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The firm has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $75.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.74.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. Sysco had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 102.09%. The business had revenue of $20.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 49.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Sysco from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Sysco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.27.

About Sysco

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.