Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Increases Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 40.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,008,954 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 290,332 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Sysco were worth $77,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SYY. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Morton Community Bank boosted its stake in Sysco by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 40,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,103,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its holdings in Sysco by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Sysco by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FineMark National Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 8,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $70.77 on Friday. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $67.12 and a 52 week high of $82.23. The company has a market capitalization of $34.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $72.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.13. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 55.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total transaction of $25,219.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This represents a 2.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYY has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price target on shares of Sysco and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.38.

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.