Boston Partners Buys 7,184,754 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 143.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,184,114 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,184,754 shares during the quarter. Sysco makes up 1.1% of Boston Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Boston Partners owned about 2.49% of Sysco worth $930,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New England Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Sysco by 12.7% during the third quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,254,000 after purchasing an additional 14,810 shares during the period. Buckley Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 7.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,706,000 after buying an additional 8,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,613,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was 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. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE:SYY opened at $74.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.33. The firm has a market cap of $36.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $73.28 and its 200 day moving average is $75.49.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Melius started coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.77.

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.