Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 18,068 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 29.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,625 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,068 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $6,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SYY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sysco during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Sysco by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of SYY stock opened at $73.69 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $73.38 and its 200-day moving average is $75.56. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $36.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.