Impax Asset Management Group plc Cuts Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Impax Asset Management Group plc cut its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 25.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 492,585 shares of the company's stock after selling 166,862 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned 0.10% of Sysco worth $36,023,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Sysco by 11.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,859,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,287 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,909,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $686,254,000 after acquiring an additional 161,756 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sysco by 70,686.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,967,508 shares of the company's stock worth $532,666,000 after acquiring an additional 6,957,665 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Sysco by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,819,065 shares of the company's stock worth $521,318,000 after acquiring an additional 310,274 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Sysco by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,459,895 shares of the company's stock valued at $493,859,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666,008 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Stephens upped their price target on Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,926,560. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of SYY traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.96. 2,096,988 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,006,276. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $38.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.15. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $62.24 and a 52-week high of $82.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $80.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Sysco had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 105.22%. The company had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. Sysco's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.90%.

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.