Baird Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 702,962 shares of the company's stock after selling 108,622 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.14% of Sysco worth $53,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Sysco by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,715,356 shares of the company's stock worth $133,902,000 after purchasing an additional 517,219 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter worth about $610,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Sysco by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 37,030 shares of the company's stock worth $2,891,000 after purchasing an additional 12,550 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Sysco by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 4,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Sysco by 14.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 572,158 shares of the company's stock worth $43,038,000 after purchasing an additional 73,306 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE SYY traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.55. 2,462,532 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,353,545. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $67.12 and a twelve month high of $82.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. Sysco's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total transaction of $25,219.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SYY shares. StockNews.com downgraded Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.38.

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.