8,063 Shares in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Purchased by AdvisorShares Investments LLC

AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $616,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Buckley Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sysco by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in Sysco by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,613,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in Sysco by 179.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 804,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,500,000 after buying an additional 516,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC bought a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,668,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of SYY opened at $70.24 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $72.79 and its 200-day moving average is $74.41. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $67.12 and a 12 month high of $82.23.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This is a positive change from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sysco’s payout ratio is 55.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on SYY. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price objective on Sysco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Sysco from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.07.

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.