Sysco (NYSE:SYY) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $75.61 and traded as high as $76.69. Sysco shares last traded at $76.36, with a volume of 1,604,649 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.93.

Sysco Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.65. The company has a market capitalization of $37.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.19.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.04). The company 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,279 shares of company stock valued at $2,786,971 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sysco

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

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.