Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Rating Increased to Hold at Melius Research

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) was upgraded by analysts at Melius Research to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.93.

Sysco Stock Performance

SYY stock opened at $76.55 on Wednesday. Sysco has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.89. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The firm has a market cap of $37.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,747,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares in the company, valued at $4,846,480. The trade was a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,279 shares of company stock worth $2,786,971 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sysco

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721,449 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Sysco by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,076,000 after buying an additional 1,782,180 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.2% during 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 period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Sysco by 9.7% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,410,000 after acquiring an additional 422,954 shares during the period. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in Sysco by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,789,000 after buying an additional 375,409 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.