Empirical Finance LLC Has $1.31 Million Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,162 shares of the company’s stock after selling 233 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SYY. National Pension Service increased its position in Sysco by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,562,000 after buying an additional 166,798 shares in the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Sysco by 12.7% in the third quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,254,000 after acquiring an additional 14,810 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 29.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after acquiring an additional 17,587 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sysco by 11.2% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,874,000 after purchasing an additional 672,940 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,706,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SYY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius assumed coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Melius Research upgraded Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.38.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,270 shares of company stock worth $6,181,946. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE SYY opened at $71.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $34.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.92.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

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.