Morton Community Bank Purchases 145 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Morton Community Bank grew its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 40,585 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Sysco were worth $3,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Sysco by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 20,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $961,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 78,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,011,000 after purchasing an additional 18,068 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 156,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,953,000 after purchasing an additional 4,927 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 107,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,186,000 after purchasing an additional 9,363 shares during the period. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.77.

Sysco Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE SYY opened at $76.53 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $73.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.60. The company has a market capitalization of $37.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. Sysco Co. has a 52 week low of $69.03 and a 52 week high of $82.33.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.