Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Purchased by Country Trust Bank

Country Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 447,847 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 27,870 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Sysco were worth $34,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Cable Hill Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 4,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Sysco by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company lifted its holdings in Sysco by 2.4% in the third quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 7,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:SYY opened at $73.33 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.89. The firm has a market cap of $36.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 79,270 shares of company stock worth $6,181,946. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SYY shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.21.

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.