Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 42,173 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,011,077 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 42,173 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.21% of Sysco worth $75,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Sysco by 143.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $930,296,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184,754 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $450,441,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,991,476 shares of the company's stock worth $687,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928,002 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $123,928,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,078,000. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Sysco in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 820,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,318,312. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $67.12 and a one year high of $82.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.81. The stock's 50-day moving average is $71.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.70.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. The business had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 55.96%.

Sysco 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.