Morgan Stanley Cuts Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Price Target to $79.00

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $82.00 to $79.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

SYY has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Melius started 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.79.

Sysco Price Performance

Sysco stock opened at $73.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.88. Sysco has a 1 year low of $69.03 and a 1 year high of $82.89.

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

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sysco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 1,240.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth $38,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.