Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Grows Stake in Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,025 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,296 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the 1st quarter valued at $5,966,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Sysco in the first quarter worth $7,368,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the first quarter worth $202,000. Dover Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the first quarter worth $321,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco in the first quarter worth $2,761,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total transaction of $25,219.04. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at $902,359.92. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYY opened at $74.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $35.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $72.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.37. Sysco Corporation has a 12 month low of $67.12 and a 12 month high of $82.23.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.11 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.36% and a return on equity of 107.96%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sysco Corporation will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is a boost from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SYY. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 target price on shares of Sysco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.00.

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.