Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) Shares Sold by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 14.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,448 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,105 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SYY. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in Sysco by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the company's stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 48.4% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 429 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 34,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, FineMark National Bank & Trust raised its position in Sysco by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 8,580 shares of the company's stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other Sysco 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 sale, the director owned 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $902,359.92. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY traded up $1.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $77.47. The company had a trading volume of 2,435,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,237,862. Sysco Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $67.12 and a fifty-two week high of $82.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $19.60 billion for 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%. Sysco's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sysco Corporation will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco's payout ratio is 55.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sysco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.77.

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.