Sysco Co. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.51 (NYSE:SYY)

Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 27th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of 0.51 per share on Friday, April 25th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%.

Sysco has raised its dividend by an average of 3.0% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 56 years. Sysco has a dividend payout ratio of 41.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Sysco to earn $4.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.3%.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $74.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average is $73.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.64. 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 has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Sysco will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SYY. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.77.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $519,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,747,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,846,480. This trade represents a 26.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 76,370 shares of company stock valued at $5,965,519. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Sysco

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.