Country Trust Bank Grows Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Country Trust Bank grew its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 447,847 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,870 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank owned approximately 0.09% of Sysco worth $34,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Sysco by 58.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 63,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,525,000 after buying an additional 23,321 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 260.7% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sysco by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Sysco by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 292,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,901,000 after purchasing an additional 7,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Sysco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $669,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,747,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,846,480. The trade was a 26.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,080. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 79,270 shares of company stock worth $6,181,946. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $73.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The company has a market cap of $36.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on SYY. Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Melius began coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.21.

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.