Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 300 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,300 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Sysco by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 2,167 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Sysco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $642,000. Rockland Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $364,000. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Sysco by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the business’s 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Performance

Sysco stock opened at $73.98 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $76.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The company has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.18. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.89.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.04). The company 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%. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

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.