Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Acquires 299 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 582,023 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.12% of Sysco worth $44,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SYY. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Sysco by 143.7% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,296,000 after purchasing an additional 7,184,754 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Sysco by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after buying an additional 2,721,449 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at about $123,928,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sysco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,078,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,719,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,666,000 after purchasing an additional 933,327 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SYY shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius began coverage on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.77.

Sysco Price Performance

NYSE SYY opened at $74.10 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $72.99 and its 200-day moving average is $75.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The company has a market capitalization of $36.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.23.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted 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 net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.