Gradient Investments LLC Boosts Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,980 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,080 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $13,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 1,240.0% in the third 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 period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Sysco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SYY. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sysco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.79.

Sysco Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $74.81 on Friday. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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). The firm had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. Sysco’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,638,670.10. This represents a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have 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 owned by company insiders.

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.