Burney Co. Increases Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Burney Co. grew its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,424 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,192 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $2,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sysco by 1,240.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $74.09 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $36.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.94 and a 200 day moving average of $75.78.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The company had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. Sysco’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SYY shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Melius assumed coverage on Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $303,103.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. The trade was a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This trade represents a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.54% 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.