Sysco Corporation $SYY Stock Position Lessened by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its Sysco stake by 28.8% in the third quarter, selling 42,721 shares and retaining 105,755 shares valued at about $8.25 million.
• Sysco reported quarterly EPS of $1.19, matching estimates, while revenue of $21.74 billion missed expectations of $22.02 billion; revenue grew 2.8% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $91.13. Director Thomas Gerard Ondrof also bought 2,500 shares at $76.62 each.

Ethic Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 105,755 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,721 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Sysco were worth $8,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 87.6% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 364 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 718.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 352 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Markowski Investments purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In related news, Director Thomas Gerard Ondrof purchased 2,500 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $76.62 per share, for a total transaction of $191,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,500 shares in the company, valued at $191,550. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ronald Phillips sold 7,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.61, for a total transaction of $614,533.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,231,526.50. The trade was a 15.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 9,240 shares of company stock worth $772,173 over the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Sysco

Here are the key news stories impacting Sysco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Thomas Gerard Ondrof purchased 2,500 shares at an average price of $76.62, a modest sign of insider confidence. Director stock purchase
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup lowered its price target from $87 to $84 and maintained a Hold/neutral rating. The target still implies potential upside from the cited share price, but the reduction reflects more restrained expectations. Citi rating
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan also lowered its expectations for SYY, adding to a cautious analyst tone. JPMorgan expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Sysco’s latest quarterly revenue of $21.74 billion fell short of analyst estimates, although earnings per share matched expectations at $1.19 and revenue grew 2.8% year over year. Recent trading and results context
• Negative Sentiment: The proposed $29.1 billion Jetro Restaurant Depot acquisition is still awaiting FTC clearance; regulatory and cost exposure has drawn investor scrutiny and could add uncertainty. Acquisition investigation notice

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Sysco from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sysco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sysco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.13.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $76.85 on Monday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $79.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.66. Sysco Corporation has a 12 month low of $68.19 and a 12 month high of $91.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.19. The business had revenue of $21.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.02 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 79.24% and a net margin of 2.12%. The business's revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sysco Corporation will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 2nd were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 2nd. Sysco's payout ratio is 58.51%.

About Sysco

Sysco Corporation is a food distribution company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1969, it supplies food and related products to customers in the foodservice and hospitality industries.

The company distributes fresh and frozen foods, meat, seafood, produce, dairy products, and pantry staples, as well as kitchen equipment, cleaning supplies, and other nonfood items. Its customers include restaurants, health care and educational facilities, lodging businesses, and other organizations that prepare and serve meals.

Sysco serves customers across the United States and in international markets, including Canada and parts of Europe.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.