J. Goldman & Co LP Acquires Shares of 224,324 Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

J. Goldman & Co LP bought a new position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 224,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,152,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SYY. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sysco during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Sysco by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sheila Talton sold 356 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.84, for a total value of $25,219.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $902,359.92. This represents a 2.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY opened at $70.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $67.12 and a 12 month high of $82.23.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.06). Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. The company had revenue of $19.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is an increase from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Sysco’s payout ratio is currently 55.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Sysco and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.38.

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.