Ethic Inc. Increases Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 125,325 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,659 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Sysco were worth $9,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Sysco by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,715,356 shares of the company's stock worth $133,902,000 after acquiring an additional 517,219 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Sysco by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 572,158 shares of the company's stock worth $43,038,000 after acquiring an additional 73,306 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Sysco by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 608,135 shares of the company's stock worth $47,471,000 after acquiring an additional 22,513 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in Sysco by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 11,888 shares of the company's stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 31,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,398,000 after acquiring an additional 4,393 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on SYY shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays reduced their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction, the director now owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of SYY stock traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.77. 2,400,998 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,361,300. The company has a market cap of $34.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.16 and a 200 day moving average of $74.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $67.12 and a 52-week high of $82.23.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 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 return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. Sysco's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. 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 payout ratio is presently 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.