PGGM Investments Sells 5,011 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

PGGM Investments reduced its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,011 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Sysco were worth $982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYY. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 39.9% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 300,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,993,000 after buying an additional 85,798 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Sysco by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 8,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 77,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,658,000 after buying an additional 2,777 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

SYY stock opened at $77.21 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $79.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.03. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $62.24 and a 12-month high of $82.89. The company has a market capitalization of $38.44 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on SYY shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,926,560. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.