Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 6,688 Shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 26.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,303 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,688 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Sysco were worth $2,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SYY. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Sysco by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 76,013 shares of the company's stock worth $5,812,000 after purchasing an additional 9,269 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in Sysco by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 7,801 shares of the company's stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Sysco by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,640 shares of the company's stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Sysco by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of SYY traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,333,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,241,469. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $74.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.31. Sysco Corporation has a 1-year low of $67.12 and a 1-year high of $82.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $37.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This is a positive change from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.96%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SYY. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Sysco in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $78.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.23.

Sysco 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.