Morgan Stanley Lowers Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Price Target to $77.00

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $79.00 to $77.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.34% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on SYY. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.21.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $72.41. 2,436,753 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,133,967. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $76.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.03. Sysco has a 1-year low of $69.03 and a 1-year high of $82.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sysco will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $3,638,670.10. The trade was a 7.69 % 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, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Sysco by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,617,000 after acquiring an additional 2,721,449 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth $137,900,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Sysco by 52.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,719,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,666,000 after purchasing an additional 933,327 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sysco by 11.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,874,000 after purchasing an additional 672,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sysco in the third quarter valued at $44,722,000. 83.41% of the stock is 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.