Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 7,320 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,084 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,320 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $2,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter worth about $3,534,000. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sysco by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 3,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Woodstock Corp increased its position in shares of Sysco by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 79,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Sysco by 895.8% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 55,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,248,000 after purchasing an additional 49,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Sysco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 65,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,000,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the company’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 $1,747,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,581 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,846,480. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.10, for a total transaction of $303,103.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This trade represents a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050 over the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius started coverage on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Melius Research raised Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sysco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.93.

Sysco Stock Performance

Sysco stock opened at $73.02 on Monday. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $69.03 and a 1-year high of $82.89. The firm has a market cap of $35.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. 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 50-day moving average of $76.72 and a 200-day moving average of $75.81.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $20.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. Sysco’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.57 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is 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.