Moseley Investment Management Inc. Increases Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Moseley Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,496 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 264 shares during the quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SYY. Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 188.7% during the 1st quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 target price on shares of Sysco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Sysco in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total transaction of $25,219.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sysco Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of SYY opened at $75.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.81. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $67.12 and a 52 week high of $82.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $71.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.69. 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 (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This is a positive change from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.96%.

Sysco Company 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.