Appleton Partners Inc. MA Purchases 6,664 Shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA grew its position in shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) by 27.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,008 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,664 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Sysco were worth $2,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 188.7% during the first quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sysco by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Sysco Stock Up 1.0%

SYY stock opened at $74.71 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.59. 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 1-year low of $67.12 and a 1-year high of $82.23. The stock has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.81.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a return on equity of 107.96% and a net margin of 2.36%. The business had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This is a boost from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYY has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Sysco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Sysco in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Sysco 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.