Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Raises Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,944 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $12,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Sysco by 11.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,617,000 after buying an additional 2,721,449 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 26.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,180 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 9.7% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,410,000 after purchasing an additional 422,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 8.5% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,789,000 after purchasing an additional 375,409 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SYY shares. Melius started coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.93.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY stock opened at $73.66 on Monday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $77.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The business had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. Sysco’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

Insider Transactions at Sysco

In other news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total value of $303,103.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This represents a 7.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 $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. Insiders sold 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.