GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 461,932 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 6,605.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 468,925 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 461,932 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.10% of Sysco worth $35,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sysco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SYY shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Sysco in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $78.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price target on shares of Sysco and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Sysco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sysco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.00.

Sysco Stock Performance

NYSE SYY traded up $0.79 on Friday, hitting $74.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,722,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,332,417. Sysco Co. has a one year low of $67.12 and a one year 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 $36.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50-day moving average is $71.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.71.

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

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Sysco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total transaction of $25,219.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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.