Yousif Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,724 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $12,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SYY. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Sysco by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in Sysco by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 27,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,084,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in Sysco by 242.3% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 33,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 23,850 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on SYY shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price objective on Sysco and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup started coverage on Sysco in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

Sysco Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:SYY opened at $75.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $36.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.70. Sysco Co. has a 1 year low of $67.12 and a 1 year high of $82.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. The company had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This is an increase from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.