Equitable Trust Co. Increases Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,572 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,208 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $3,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at $105,000. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 62,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,753,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 242.3% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 33,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 23,850 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $71.13 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.92. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $69.03 and a 52 week high of $82.33. The company has a market capitalization of $34.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS 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 business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $519,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,080. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have 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 analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius began coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.38.

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.