Heartland Advisors Inc. Buys New Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 193,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,827,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 53.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco by 107.4% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SYY. Barclays dropped their price objective on Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research 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, Sysco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.77.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE:SYY opened at $73.99 on Friday. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The stock has a market cap of $36.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $72.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (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 last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.44%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.