Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Shares Acquired by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,807 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,167 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $826,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Sysco by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sysco by 3.1% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its position in Sysco by 3.9% in the third quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 4,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group lifted its holdings in Sysco by 1.1% in the second 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 during the period. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 7,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $73.47 on Wednesday. Sysco Co. has a 12-month low of $69.03 and a 12-month high of $82.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The company has a market cap of $36.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.87.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SYY shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.79.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,747,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 60,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,846,480. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Sysco

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.