Brandes Investment Partners LP Increases Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 19,865.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 635,102 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 631,921 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 0.13% of Sysco worth $48,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Sysco by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE SYY opened at $73.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $73.28 and a 200 day moving average of $75.52.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SYY. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.77.

Sysco Company 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.