Allied Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Allied Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,864 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,554 shares during the period. Sysco makes up 2.0% of Allied Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Allied Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Sysco were worth $10,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Sysco by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total transaction of $25,219.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at $902,359.92. This trade 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on SYY shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Sysco in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $78.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sysco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.00.

Sysco Stock Performance

SYY traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.66. 2,655,101 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,329,731. The company's 50-day moving average is $71.74 and its 200 day moving average is $73.72. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $67.12 and a 52 week high of $82.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is an increase from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. Sysco's payout ratio is currently 55.96%.

Sysco 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.