FourThought Financial Partners LLC Buys New Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

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

Sysco Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE SYY opened at $74.23 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $69.03 and a one year high of $82.33. The firm has a market cap of $36.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $519,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,876,080. This represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. The trade was 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 76,370 shares of company stock worth $5,965,519. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SYY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.77.

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.