Advisor Resource Council Buys Shares of 3,312 Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Sysco by 143.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company's stock worth $930,296,000 after buying an additional 7,184,754 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $450,441,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Sysco by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,991,476 shares of the company's stock worth $687,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928,002 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $123,928,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter valued at $97,078,000. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $902,359.92. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SYY. Citigroup began coverage on Sysco in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.00.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.15. 1,397,830 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,276,400. The company's 50 day moving average is $72.58 and its 200 day moving average is $73.47. Sysco Corporation has a one year low of $67.12 and a one year high of $82.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.81.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 107.96%. The business had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Sysco's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sysco Corporation will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Sysco's payout ratio is 55.96%.

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.