Czech National Bank Buys 6,332 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 106,508 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,332 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Sysco were worth $8,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 11.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after buying an additional 2,721,449 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 103.0% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,746,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,830,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408,226 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Sysco by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,076,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,180 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth about $137,900,000. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in Sysco by 37.5% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,373,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,650 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sysco Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $73.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.18. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $69.03 and a one year high of $82.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $76.94 and its 200 day moving average is $75.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SYY. StockNews.com upgraded Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Melius started coverage on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.93.

About Sysco

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.