Appleton Partners Inc. MA Has $2.33 Million Stock Position in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lifted its stake in shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 27.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,008 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,664 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA's holdings in Sysco were worth $2,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners boosted its position in Sysco by 143.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $930,296,000 after buying an additional 7,184,754 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at about $450,441,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Sysco by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,991,476 shares of the company's stock worth $687,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928,002 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth about $123,928,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in Sysco by 29,610.4% during the 1st quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,431,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,332 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total transaction of $25,219.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sysco Stock Up 1.7%

SYY stock traded up $1.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $75.97. 2,632,091 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,292,724. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.26. Sysco Corporation has a 1-year low of $67.12 and a 1-year high of $82.23. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $72.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.48. The firm has a market cap of $36.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.81.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 107.96%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sysco Corporation will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SYY shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 target price on Sysco and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.00.

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.