Covington Capital Management Decreases Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Covington Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY – Get Rating) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 228 shares during the quarter. Covington Capital Management’s holdings in Sysco were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYY. Standard Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Karp Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. American National Bank lifted its stake in Sysco by 397.6% during the third quarter. American National Bank now owns 408 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in Sysco by 128.7% during the third quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:SYY opened at $74.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $37.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.20. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.20. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $70.61 and a 12-month high of $91.53.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.04). Sysco had a return on equity of 140.94% and a net margin of 1.93%. The business had revenue of $18.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 5th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SYY. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Sysco from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Sysco from $92.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Sysco from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reduced their price objective on Sysco from $100.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.67.

About Sysco

(Get Rating)

Sysco Corp. engages in selling, marketing, and distribution of food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, and lodging establishments. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and Other. The U.S. Foodservice Operations consists of U.S.