Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 107,060 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,363 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Sysco were worth $8,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYY. New England Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 12.7% in the third quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,254,000 after purchasing an additional 14,810 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 29.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 17,587 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 7.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,706,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891 shares during the period. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,613,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $3,698,079.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SYY shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.77.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY stock opened at $72.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 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 $82.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.44%.

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.