Heartland Advisors Inc. Invests $14.83 Million in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 193,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,827,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sysco during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 107.4% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Trading Up 1.7 %

SYY stock opened at $73.99 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.23.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on SYY shares. StockNews.com cut Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Melius started coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.77.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % 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 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.