CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp Boosts Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 121,208 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,458 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Sysco were worth $9,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sysco by 1,240.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in Sysco during the third quarter worth $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Up 0.2 %

SYY stock opened at $74.09 on Thursday. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $76.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $20.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $966,831.65. This trade represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders have sold 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SYY shares. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sysco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.93.

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.