J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,956 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,294,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,130,617,000 after buying an additional 2,721,449 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,685,547 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,874,000 after buying an additional 672,940 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,796,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,410,000 after buying an additional 422,954 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 4,790,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,789,000 after buying an additional 375,409 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Sysco by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,265,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,983,000 after purchasing an additional 168,163 shares during the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $70.68 on Thursday. Sysco Co. has a twelve month low of $69.03 and a twelve month high of $82.33. The company has a market capitalization of $34.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.72.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 106.30% and a net margin of 2.40%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sysco

In related news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the business’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 $519,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,370 shares of company stock worth $5,965,519 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SYY shares. Melius started coverage on Sysco in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Sysco from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.38.

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.