OLD Republic International Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

OLD Republic International Corp lessened its holdings in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 21.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 620,200 shares of the company's stock after selling 164,500 shares during the period. Sysco makes up approximately 1.8% of OLD Republic International Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. OLD Republic International Corp owned 0.13% of Sysco worth $46,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,519,424 shares of the company's stock worth $4,703,775,000 after purchasing an additional 429,711 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Sysco by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,907,541 shares of the company's stock worth $1,292,751,000 after acquiring an additional 851,441 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Sysco by 143.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company's stock worth $930,296,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184,754 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sysco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,868,965 shares of the company's stock worth $905,120,000 after acquiring an additional 233,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,928,002 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on SYY. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price target on shares of Sysco and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sysco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.77.

Sysco Price Performance

NYSE SYY traded down $0.37 on Wednesday, reaching $76.16. The company had a trading volume of 588,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,228,438. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $73.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.28. Sysco Corporation has a 12 month low of $67.12 and a 12 month high of $82.23.

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

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Sysco's payout ratio is currently 55.96%.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total transaction of $25,219.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $902,359.92. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

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.