Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Stake Lifted by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,310 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in Sysco during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Sysco in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on SYY shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.77.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of SYY opened at $74.48 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.52 and its 200-day moving average is $75.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $36.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco 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.