Sysco Co. (SYY) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.51 on April 25th

Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 27th, RTT News reports. Investors 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 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th.

Sysco has raised its dividend by an average of 3.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 56 years. Sysco has a payout ratio of 41.2% 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

Sysco stock opened at $75.46 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The stock has a market cap of $36.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $73.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.10. Sysco has a 52 week low of $69.03 and a 52 week high of $82.23.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued 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 net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Sysco will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SYY. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.77.

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.