Gradient Investments LLC Trims Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Gradient Investments LLC cut its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 202,368 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,011 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Sysco were worth $16,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in Sysco by 74.0% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 374 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sysco by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Sysco from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,082 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,926,560. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sysco Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:SYY traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $75.36. 2,709,679 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,778,819. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's fifty day moving average is $78.65 and its 200-day moving average is $75.16. 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 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.01. Sysco had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 99.88%. The firm had revenue of $19.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. This is an increase from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.78%.

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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