Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Simmons Bank acquired a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth $221,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sysco by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,798,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,640,000 after buying an additional 59,371 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Sysco by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in Sysco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 39,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,888,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Sysco by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 42,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,084,000 after acquiring an additional 7,128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,926,560. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.84. 3,333,289 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,970,474. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $62.24 and a 12 month high of $82.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $78.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.45.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. The firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is an increase from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on SYY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Sysco from $92.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Sysco from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.56.

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.