Atom Investors LP Acquires Shares of 34,919 Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Atom Investors LP bought a new position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 34,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,726,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SYY. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYY has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.77.

Sysco Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $76.26 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $75.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.77. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.89. The company has a market capitalization of $37.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,638,670.10. The trade was a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by 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.