First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 6,896 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 28,157 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,896 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $2,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 1,240.0% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE SYY opened at $74.31 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.19, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.20. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $64.28 and a one year high of $82.89. The company has a market capitalization of $36.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.20.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a return on equity of 102.09% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SYY. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sysco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.77.

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.