Advanced Portfolio Management LLC Takes $958,000 Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Advanced Portfolio Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 13,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $958,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Sysco by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,715,356 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,902,000 after purchasing an additional 517,219 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $610,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Sysco by 51.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 37,030 shares of the company's stock worth $2,891,000 after buying an additional 12,550 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 14.7% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 4,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 572,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,038,000 after acquiring an additional 73,306 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sysco Stock Up 2.7 %

NYSE SYY traded up $1.88 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $72.39. 1,332,124 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,345,835. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $67.12 and a one year high of $82.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company's 50-day moving average is $72.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.18. The company has a market capitalization of $35.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. The company had revenue of $19.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. Sysco's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is a boost from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SYY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price target on Sysco and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group cut their price target on Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $902,359.92. This represents a 2.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.