Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) Shares Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its holdings in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,598 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,975 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC's holdings in Sysco were worth $5,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Sysco by 2.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 223,510 shares of the company's stock worth $16,772,000 after buying an additional 4,932 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its stake in Sysco by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 66,495 shares of the company's stock worth $5,084,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Sysco by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 42,904 shares of the company's stock worth $3,280,000 after acquiring an additional 8,076 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at $576,000. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the first quarter valued at $202,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SYY. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 target price on shares of Sysco and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Sysco in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Sysco from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of SYY stock traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.38. 2,333,164 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,251,310. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $74.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.30. Sysco Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $67.12 and a fifty-two week high of $82.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37. The firm has a market cap of $37.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.81.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sysco Corporation will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

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

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.