Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Sells 2,579 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 16.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,579 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Sysco during the 1st quarter worth about $3,826,000. New England Research & Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 41,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 8,159 shares in the last quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sysco during the 1st quarter worth about $1,074,000. Krilogy Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 25,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its position in Sysco by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 46,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,486,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Sysco in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price target on shares of Sysco and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Sysco Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of SYY stock opened at $74.24 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.98 and a 200-day moving average of $73.67. 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 12-month low of $67.12 and a 12-month high of $82.23. The firm has a market cap of $35.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.81.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly 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). Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. The company had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is a positive change from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.