Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Buys 299 Shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 582,023 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Sysco were worth $44,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sysco during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sysco in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Sysco by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 107.4% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 620 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE SYY opened at $74.10 on Friday. Sysco Co. has a 1 year low of $69.03 and a 1 year high of $82.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $36.25 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.15.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $4,335,408. This represents a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays cut their price target on Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius Research raised shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.77.

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.