Vident Advisory LLC Reduces Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Vident Advisory LLC reduced its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 83.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,699 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,408 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Sysco were worth $665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SYY. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sysco has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.00.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the business'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 sale, the director now owns 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $902,359.92. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Sysco Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE SYY traded up $1.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.48. 943,209 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,326,702. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $35.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $71.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.80. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $67.12 and a 12-month high of $82.23.

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). Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. The firm had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is an increase from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco's 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.