Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 109.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,965 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,806 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Sysco were worth $1,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SYY. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sysco by 1,240.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco during the third quarter worth $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Sysco during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at $966,831.65. The trade was a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,876,080. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,279 shares of company stock worth $2,786,971. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sysco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.77.

Sysco Price Performance

NYSE SYY traded down $1.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $80.73. 4,833,246 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,577,383. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38. The company has a market cap of $39.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.19. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $76.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.92.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by ($0.04). Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. The company had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.44%.

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.