Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Acquired by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,638 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,682 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $3,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at $271,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sysco by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,591,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,121,000 after acquiring an additional 31,362 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Sysco by 97.3% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 119,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,109,000 after purchasing an additional 58,740 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Sysco by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 129,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,879,000 after purchasing an additional 2,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at about $554,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price 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. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.38.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY stock opened at $72.34 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.03. The company has a market cap of $35.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $67.12 and a 12-month high of $82.23.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. This is a boost from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.96%.

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.