Essential Planning LLC. Invests $866,000 in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $866,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SYY. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Sysco by 11.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Sysco by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,410,000 after buying an additional 422,954 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Sysco by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,789,000 after buying an additional 375,409 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Sysco by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,265,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,983,000 after buying an additional 168,163 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Sysco by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,918,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,868,000 after buying an additional 569,058 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $3,698,079.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of SYY opened at $72.63 on Friday. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on SYY. Barclays decreased their target price on Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Melius began coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.