Legal & General Group Plc Trims Holdings in Sysco Corporation $SYY

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Sysco stake by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 105,065 shares and ending with 2,478,109 shares valued at about $182.6 million.
• Analyst sentiment on Sysco remains mixed but constructive: the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a target price of $88.15, even as several firms trimmed price targets or ratings recently.
• Sysco reported Q1 earnings of $0.94 per share, slightly below expectations, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.55 per share, implying a 2.9% annual yield.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,478,109 shares of the company's stock after selling 105,065 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.52% of Sysco worth $182,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Sysco by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 8,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank lifted its holdings in Sysco by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. United Community Bank now owns 1,224 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sysco by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sysco by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Sysco by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SYY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sysco from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Sysco to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.15.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other Sysco news, Director John M. Hinshaw bought 13,304 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $75.17 per share, with a total value of $1,000,061.68. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,200 shares in the company, valued at $3,021,834. This trade represents a 49.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Sysco Stock Down 0.1%

SYY opened at $75.23 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $75.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.11. The company has a market cap of $35.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.66. Sysco Corporation has a 1 year low of $68.19 and a 1 year high of $91.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.58, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $20.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.56 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 103.57% and a net margin of 2.08%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. Sysco has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.510-1.510 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sysco Corporation will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.83%.

Sysco Company Profile

Sysco Corporation NYSE: SYY is a global foodservice distribution company that supplies a broad range of food and related products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments, and other foodservice customers. Its core business is the procurement, warehousing and delivery of fresh, frozen and dry food products, complemented by non-food items such as paper goods, kitchen equipment, cleaning supplies and tabletop products. Sysco serves customers through an extensive network of distribution centers and dedicated delivery fleets, positioning itself as a one-stop supplier for operators of all sizes.

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Sysco has grown through both organic expansion and acquisitions.

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