Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Now Covered by Melius

Melius began coverage on shares of Sysco (NYSE:SYY) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.93.

Sysco Trading Up 0.4 %

SYY stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 91,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,136,432. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.19. Sysco has a 1 year low of $69.03 and a 1 year high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sysco will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,747,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,846,480. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $303,103.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,638,670.10. The trade was a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,279 shares of company stock valued at $2,786,971. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sysco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 1,240.0% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 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.