World Investment Advisors Sells 17,010 Shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

World Investment Advisors trimmed its holdings in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 65.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,121 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,010 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Sysco were worth $684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SYY. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter worth $54,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Sysco by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,706 shares of the company's stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter worth $8,813,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Sysco by 134.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,227 shares of the company's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,993 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Sysco by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 17,483 shares of the company's stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,809 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Sysco in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Sysco and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sysco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven 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 $82.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of Sysco stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,671,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,232,647. Sysco Corporation has a 1-year low of $67.12 and a 1-year high of $82.23. The company has a market capitalization of $37.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.28.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 107.96%. The business had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. Sysco's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sysco Corporation will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. This is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.