Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Now Covered by Melius

Melius began coverage on shares of Sysco (NYSE:SYY) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock.

SYY has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.93.

Sysco Price Performance

Sysco stock opened at $76.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $37.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.19. Sysco has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.35.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The business had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sysco will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,747,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,846,480. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,279 shares of company stock worth $2,786,971. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sysco

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SYY. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Sysco by 3.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 608,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,471,000 after purchasing an additional 22,513 shares during the period. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 572,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,038,000 after acquiring an additional 73,306 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in Sysco by 5.8% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 190,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,886,000 after acquiring an additional 10,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Sysco by 14.7% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 4,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.