First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 6,896 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 32.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,157 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,896 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $2,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lifted its position in Sysco by 0.6% during the second quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 22,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Sysco by 1.7% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sysco by 3.1% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sysco by 3.7% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 4,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Sysco by 1.6% during the second quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $74.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.74. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The firm has a market cap of $36.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.20.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a return on equity of 102.09% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. Sysco’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.77.

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.