Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 13,779 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 116.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,615 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,779 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Sysco by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721,449 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sysco by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,874,000 after acquiring an additional 672,940 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in shares of Sysco by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,410,000 after acquiring an additional 422,954 shares during the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Sysco by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,789,000 after acquiring an additional 375,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Sysco by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,265,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,983,000 after acquiring an additional 168,163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other 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 in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $74.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $36.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $69.03 and a 1-year high of $82.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.62.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its 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 net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial dropped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.77.

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.