Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 39.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 300,746 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,798 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $21,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sysco by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 8,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in shares of Sysco by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Sysco by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC grew its position in shares of Sysco by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 14,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its position in shares of Sysco by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 30,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,457,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,926,560. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sysco Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $73.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $36.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.16. Sysco Co. has a 1 year low of $62.24 and a 1 year high of $82.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $78.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.09.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.74 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 99.88%. Sysco’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Sysco from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Sysco from $92.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sysco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.90.

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.