Clark & Stuart Inc Makes New Investment in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 99,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,613,000. Sysco accounts for approximately 5.6% of Clark & Stuart Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position.

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

Sysco Stock Down 1.6 %

Sysco stock opened at $73.66 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.75. The company has a market capitalization of $36.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.26. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89.

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

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SYY. Melius initiated coverage on Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of 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 shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.93.

Insider Activity

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,638,670.10. This represents a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 83,306 shares of company stock valued at $6,485,050. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.