Zions Bancorporation N.A. Grows Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,591 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Sysco by 143.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,296,000 after purchasing an additional 7,184,754 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth $123,928,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at $97,078,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Sysco by 52.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,719,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,666,000 after acquiring an additional 933,327 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.77.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $72.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.95 and a 200 day moving average of $75.19. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $69.03 and a 12 month high of $82.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS 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 last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

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.