Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Stake Decreased by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB decreased its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,438 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,777 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Sysco were worth $2,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SYY. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services raised its position in Sysco by 25.2% in the first quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 4,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in Sysco by 50.1% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 16,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 5,412 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Sysco by 0.3% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 170,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,811,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Sysco by 29.3% in the first quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 75,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,628,000 after purchasing an additional 17,000 shares during the period. Finally, Panoramic Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Sysco by 10.5% in the first quarter. Panoramic Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SYY. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Sysco Stock Down 1.5%

NYSE:SYY traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.24. The stock had a trading volume of 2,255,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,334,535. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $71.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.69. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $67.12 and a 1-year high of $82.23. The company has a market capitalization of $35.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Sysco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.54 dividend. 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 yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Sysco's payout ratio is presently 55.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at $902,359.92. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.