National Pension Service Buys 22,631 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

National Pension Service increased its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,006,128 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,631 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.20% of Sysco worth $73,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 263.4% during the third quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 34,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 24,650 shares during the period. Professional Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,057,000. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,623,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 82,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,014,000 after buying an additional 23,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Sysco by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 298,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,865,000 after buying an additional 41,618 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Sysco stock traded up $0.52 on Thursday, reaching $75.14. 969,387 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,947,252. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $62.24 and a one year high of $82.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.44 and a 200 day moving average of $75.45. The company has a market capitalization of $37.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.74 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 99.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. 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 2.71%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 49.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $137,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,926,560. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Sysco from $92.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.56.

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.