First Financial Corp IN Boosts Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

First Financial Corp IN lifted its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,218 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 319 shares during the quarter. First Financial Corp IN’s holdings in Sysco were worth $628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Sysco by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,562,000 after purchasing an additional 166,798 shares in the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,254,000 after acquiring an additional 14,810 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sysco by 29.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 17,587 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sysco by 11.2% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,874,000 after purchasing an additional 672,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Sysco by 7.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,706,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE:SYY opened at $73.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $76.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.76. The firm has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. Sysco’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This trade represents a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Melius assumed coverage on Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research upgraded Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.93.

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.