Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 608,135 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,513 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $47,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Sysco by 3.1% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 4,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Arrow Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 0.8% in the second quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 19,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Sysco by 1.5% during the second quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $779,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Sysco by 0.4% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 42,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,052,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This represents a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,279 shares of company stock worth $2,786,971. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Melius started coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Melius Research upgraded Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.93.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $76.97 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $37.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.70 and a 200 day moving average of $75.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $69.03 and a 12 month high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted 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 net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. 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 prior year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

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.