Empirical Asset Management LLC Purchases 49,983 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 895.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,563 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 49,983 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $4,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Sysco by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sysco by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its holdings in Sysco by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 4,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 1.4% during the second quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 12,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group lifted its position in Sysco by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 17,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.93.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY opened at $73.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $76.88 and a 200-day moving average of $75.77. The company has a market cap of $35.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $69.03 and a one year high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The business had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. Sysco’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,747,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,846,480. This trade represents a 26.50 % 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 over the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.