Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Shares Down 3.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) traded down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $71.76 and last traded at $71.75. 713,815 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 3,604,476 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on SYY. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.77.

Sysco Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $73.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sysco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Claro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth about $250,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,478,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,373,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sysco by 12.7% in the third quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,254,000 after purchasing an additional 14,810 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in Sysco by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 126,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,889,000 after buying an additional 5,918 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth about $1,307,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.