Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Acquired by Focus Partners Wealth

Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 37.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 901,939 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 245,122 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Sysco were worth $69,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Sysco by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,519,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,703,775,000 after purchasing an additional 429,711 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Sysco by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,907,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,292,751,000 after acquiring an additional 851,441 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its stake in Sysco by 143.7% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sysco by 2.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Sysco by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,991,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $687,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928,002 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SYY shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price target on shares of Sysco and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.38.

Sysco Price Performance

NYSE:SYY opened at $70.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $67.12 and a 52 week high of $82.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $72.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.13.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted 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 net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. The business had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. This is an increase from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.96%.

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.