Vestcor Inc Acquires 14,614 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Vestcor Inc increased its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 53.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,937 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,614 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Sysco were worth $3,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Sysco by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 22,547 shares of the company's stock worth $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 3.1% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,555 shares of the company's stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 4,049 shares of the company's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrow Financial Corp increased its position in Sysco by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 19,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,427,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SYY. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sysco currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.77.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. The trade was a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. This trade represents a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,279 shares of company stock worth $2,786,971. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE:SYY traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $80.35. The company had a trading volume of 2,101,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,162,392. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $76.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.05. The firm has a market cap of $39.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $69.03 and a 52 week high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The firm's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco's payout ratio is 52.44%.

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.