St. James Investment Company LLC Boosts Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

St. James Investment Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,930 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. Sysco comprises 0.1% of St. James Investment Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. St. James Investment Company LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sysco by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,519,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,703,775,000 after acquiring an additional 429,711 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Sysco by 11.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721,449 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Sysco by 143.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,296,000 after buying an additional 7,184,754 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,206,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,046,000 after buying an additional 521,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $450,441,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sysco Stock Performance

SYY stock opened at $74.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Sysco Co. has a 1 year low of $69.03 and a 1 year high of $82.23. The company has a market cap of $36.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $72.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.12.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Activity at Sysco

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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 on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.77.

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.