Leelyn Smith LLC Purchases 745 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,003 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $2,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Sysco by 11.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,617,000 after buying an additional 2,721,449 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,206,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,046,000 after acquiring an additional 521,431 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted 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. grew its holdings in shares of Sysco by 8.5% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,789,000 after purchasing an additional 375,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Sysco by 4.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,265,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,983,000 after purchasing an additional 168,163 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $74.78 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.49. The company has a market cap of $36.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $69.03 and a 12 month high of $82.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 company posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price 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. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.