Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires 933,327 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 52.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,719,478 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 933,327 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Sysco were worth $208,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SYY. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Sysco by 3.1% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 12,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group boosted its position in Sysco by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 17,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company boosted its position in Sysco by 2.4% during the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 7,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of SYY opened at $74.76 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.73. The company has a market capitalization of $36.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.18. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The company had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on SYY shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.93.

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.