Calamos Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Calamos Advisors LLC increased its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 296,538 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,727 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $21,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYY. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 74.0% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 74.6% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 419 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the first quarter worth $32,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the second quarter worth $37,000. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sysco in the third quarter worth $38,000. 83.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SYY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays upped their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.38.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $76.10. The company had a trading volume of 270,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,900,056. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.37. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $62.24 and a 12 month high of $82.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.15.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Sysco had a return on equity of 105.22% and a net margin of 2.69%. The firm had revenue of $19.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sysco Co. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $137,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,926,560. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.