Financial Counselors Inc. Increases Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,036 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in Sysco by 74.0% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Sysco by 74.6% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Sysco during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sysco during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Sysco during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SYY shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.38.

Sysco Price Performance

SYY stock opened at $75.24 on Friday. Sysco Co. has a 1 year low of $62.24 and a 1 year high of $82.89. The company has a market cap of $37.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.80 and a 200 day moving average of $73.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Sysco had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 105.22%. The business had revenue of $19.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is 48.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In related news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,926,560. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.