Coho Partners Ltd. Reduces Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Coho Partners Ltd. lowered its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,529,927 shares of the company’s stock after selling 192,084 shares during the quarter. Sysco makes up about 4.4% of Coho Partners Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Coho Partners Ltd. owned approximately 0.31% of Sysco worth $119,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SYY. Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its position in Sysco by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 6,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC bought a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Sysco by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 17,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter valued at $237,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Sysco by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 5,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

NYSE:SYY opened at $74.63 on Thursday. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $64.28 and a 52 week high of $82.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $76.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.82.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. Sysco had a return on equity of 102.09% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company had revenue of $20.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. Sysco’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Sysco from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.08.

Sysco Company 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.