14,309 Shares in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) Acquired by Pullen Investment Management LLC

Pullen Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,074,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SYY. Boston Partners lifted its position in Sysco by 143.7% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company's stock valued at $930,296,000 after purchasing an additional 7,184,754 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 4th quarter valued at $450,441,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,991,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $687,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,928,002 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter worth $123,928,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco during the fourth quarter worth $97,078,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup started coverage on Sysco in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $78.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price target on shares of Sysco and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.00.

Sysco Stock Down 0.7%

SYY traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $74.25. 2,351,000 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,327,189. The stock has a market cap of $35.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.81. Sysco Corporation has a 1-year low of $67.12 and a 1-year high of $82.23. The stock's 50-day moving average is $72.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 107.96% and a net margin of 2.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sysco Corporation will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the company's 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.