Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,081,727 shares of the company’s stock after selling 84,073 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Sysco were worth $82,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Sysco by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 757,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,925,000 after purchasing an additional 42,207 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 82,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at $450,441,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. purchased a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth about $222,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SYY. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sysco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.77.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE SYY opened at $74.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.13. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

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.