Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Position Lessened by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lessened its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 733,235 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,423 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.15% of Sysco worth $55,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 143.7% in 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 last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at $450,441,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at $123,928,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at $97,078,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SYY. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Sysco in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $78.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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 decreased their target price on Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 target price on Sysco and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sysco Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE SYY traded up $0.79 on Friday, hitting $74.56. 2,722,564 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,327,979. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.67 and a 200 day moving average of $73.71. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $67.12 and a twelve month high of $82.23. The company has a market capitalization of $36.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. The firm had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. This is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.96%.

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.