Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Downgraded to "Buy" Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SYY. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Melius began coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Four 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 an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.77.

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Sysco Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:SYY traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $71.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,659,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,135,175. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $34.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $73.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.26. Sysco has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Sysco will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sysco

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sysco by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,519,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,703,775,000 after acquiring an additional 429,711 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,130,617,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721,449 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,907,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,292,751,000 after purchasing an additional 851,441 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 143.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,184,114 shares of the company's stock worth $930,296,000 after purchasing an additional 7,184,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sysco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,868,965 shares of the company's stock worth $905,120,000 after purchasing an additional 233,885 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.