Boston Partners Boosts Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Boston Partners lifted its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 143.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,184,114 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,184,754 shares during the quarter. Sysco makes up 1.1% of Boston Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Boston Partners’ holdings in Sysco were worth $930,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. New England Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,254,000 after purchasing an additional 14,810 shares in the last quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,706,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,613,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $74.78 on Tuesday. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $73.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid 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 2.73%. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four research 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 data from MarketBeat, Sysco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the company’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 owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sysco Company 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.