Northern Trust Corp Buys 588,844 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,683,453 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 588,844 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.16% of Sysco worth $434,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Sysco by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,519,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,703,775,000 after purchasing an additional 429,711 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Sysco by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,907,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,292,751,000 after buying an additional 851,441 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Sysco by 143.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $930,296,000 after acquiring an additional 7,184,754 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,868,965 shares of the company's stock worth $905,120,000 after purchasing an additional 233,885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Sysco by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,991,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $687,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,512,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,359,361. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $72.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.91. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $67.12 and a 52 week high of $82.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm 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. 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 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. 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 dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 target price on Sysco and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.