Walter Public Investments Inc. Acquires 32,088 Shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

Walter Public Investments Inc. grew its position in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 23.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 166,823 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 32,088 shares during the quarter. Sysco makes up approximately 2.3% of Walter Public Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings in Sysco were worth $12,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 3.9% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 199,570 shares of the company's stock worth $14,976,000 after buying an additional 7,503 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Sysco by 0.4% during the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 55,336 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,152,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in Sysco by 14.2% during the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 12,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $918,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sysco by 770.0% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 11,188 shares of the company's stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 9,902 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sysco by 17.3% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,449,000 after purchasing an additional 4,811 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sysco Price Performance

NYSE SYY traded down $0.18 on Tuesday, hitting $76.53. 2,118,699 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,232,654. The company has a market cap of $37.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.81. Sysco Corporation has a 1-year low of $67.12 and a 1-year high of $82.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.25.

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

Sysco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders 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 is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is 55.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on SYY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sysco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.77.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $902,359.92. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.