Sicart Associates LLC Grows Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Sicart Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,999 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,355 shares during the quarter. Sysco accounts for 3.3% of Sicart Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Sicart Associates LLC's holdings in Sysco were worth $8,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SYY. Columbus Macro LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 10,290 shares of the company's stock worth $761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Sysco by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Armor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,067 shares of the company's stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,948 shares of the company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 222,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,263,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SYY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $137,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,082 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,926,560. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sysco Price Performance

SYY traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,203,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,552,285. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $62.24 and a 12 month high of $82.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $79.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.44. The stock has a market cap of $40.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.16.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.32 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 105.22%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.90%.

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.

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