Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 600,688 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,509 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Sysco worth $45,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Buckley Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,188 shares of the company's stock worth $1,391,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Sysco by 2.3% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 223,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,772,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co increased its stake in Sysco by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 66,495 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,084,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Sysco by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 42,904 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,280,000 after purchasing an additional 8,076 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYY. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 target price on shares of Sysco and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.77.

Sysco Price Performance

SYY stock traded up $1.14 during trading on Thursday, reaching $77.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,434,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,356,260. Sysco Corporation has a 1 year low of $67.12 and a 1 year high of $82.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37. The company has a market capitalization of $37.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81. The company's fifty day moving average is $73.63 and its 200-day moving average is $73.30.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 107.96%. The firm had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Sysco Corporation will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.96%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.