M&T Bank Corp Reduces Holdings in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its holdings in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 22.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 201,871 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,028 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Sysco were worth $15,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sysco by 3.4% in the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 337,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,311,000 after purchasing an additional 11,057 shares during the last quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Sysco by 23.8% in the first quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 166,823 shares of the company's stock worth $12,518,000 after acquiring an additional 32,088 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Sysco by 3.9% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 199,570 shares of the company's stock worth $14,976,000 after acquiring an additional 7,503 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sysco by 0.4% in the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 55,336 shares of the company's stock worth $4,152,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in shares of Sysco by 14.2% in the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 12,230 shares of the company's stock worth $918,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY traded up $1.25 on Thursday, reaching $77.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 587,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,342,061. The stock's 50-day moving average is $73.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.30. Sysco Corporation has a 52-week low of $67.12 and a 52-week 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 $37.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 107.96% and a net margin of 2.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sysco Corporation 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 issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on SYY. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Sysco in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 target price on shares of Sysco and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.