West Tower Group LLC Takes $273,000 Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

West Tower Group LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SYY. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sysco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 1,240.0% during the 3rd 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 period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE SYY opened at $76.89 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.75. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $69.03 and a one year high of $82.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $37.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.20.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The business had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. Sysco’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were 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 $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the company’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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SYY. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. 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, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.77.

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.