Auto Owners Insurance Co Boosts Stock Position in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 358.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,875 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,775 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co's holdings in Sysco were worth $3,818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SYY. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Sysco by 1.3% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,614 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in Sysco by 2.9% in the first quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 424,100 shares of the company's stock worth $31,824,000 after buying an additional 11,900 shares in the last quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Sysco by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 250,439 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,793,000 after acquiring an additional 35,012 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 121.3% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 265,193 shares of the company's stock worth $19,900,000 after acquiring an additional 145,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Sysco by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 7,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 2,107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the sale, the director owned 12,738 shares in the company, valued at $902,359.92. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Sysco from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price target on shares of Sysco and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.23.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $80.21 on Wednesday. Sysco Corporation has a 12 month low of $67.12 and a 12 month high of $82.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 107.96% and a net margin of 2.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sysco Corporation will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This is an increase from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco's payout ratio is currently 55.96%.

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.

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