Blue Trust Inc. Increases Stake in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,275 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners grew its stake in Sysco by 143.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,296,000 after buying an additional 7,184,754 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at $450,441,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth about $123,928,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth about $97,078,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $902,359.92. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SYY shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Sysco in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 target price on shares of Sysco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.00.

Sysco Price Performance

SYY opened at $73.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.62. Sysco Corporation has a 52-week low of $67.12 and a 52-week high of $82.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 107.96%. Sysco’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Sysco Corporation will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. 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 is presently 52.85%.

Sysco 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.