Econ Financial Services Corp Buys New Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Econ Financial Services Corp purchased a new position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 15,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,179,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SYY. State Street Corp increased its position in Sysco by 11.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,721,449 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Sysco by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,874,000 after purchasing an additional 672,940 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,410,000 after purchasing an additional 422,954 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Sysco by 8.5% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,789,000 after buying an additional 375,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 4.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,265,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,983,000 after buying an additional 168,163 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE SYY opened at $71.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. 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 1-year low of $69.03 and a 1-year high of $82.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.11 and a 200-day moving average of $75.99.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,747,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares in the company, valued at $4,846,480. The trade was a 26.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,270 shares of company stock valued at $6,181,946 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.