Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 39,494 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Sysco were worth $2,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in Sysco by 74.0% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sysco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in Sysco by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sysco news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of Sysco 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,926,560. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY traded down $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.54. 271,125 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,939,425. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77. The company has a market cap of $37.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.45. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $62.24 and a 52-week high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.74 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 99.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is a positive change from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 49.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SYY. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $92.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sysco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.56.

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.