M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Buys Shares of 6,624 Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. bought a new position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service increased its position in Sysco by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,562,000 after buying an additional 166,798 shares in the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 12.7% during the third quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,254,000 after acquiring an additional 14,810 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Sysco by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 17,587 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sysco by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company's stock worth $521,874,000 after purchasing an additional 672,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Sysco by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 124,341 shares of the company's stock worth $9,706,000 after purchasing an additional 8,891 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SYY shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a "hold" rating and a $85.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Sysco from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Melius Research upgraded Sysco to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.93.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of Sysco stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $73.02. The stock had a trading volume of 3,555,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,913,882. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.89. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $35.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's 50 day moving average is $76.72 and its 200 day moving average is $75.85.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.44% and a return on equity of 101.04%. The business had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.44%.

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.