Providence Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 80,600 Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 80,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,292,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SYY. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sysco by 103.0% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,746,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,830,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408,226 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 49.8% during the 2nd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,012,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,997,895 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 26.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,623,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,180 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Sysco in the third quarter valued at $137,900,000. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in Sysco by 37.5% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,373,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,223,000 after buying an additional 1,192,650 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 4,036 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 48,451 shares in the company, valued at $3,638,670.10. The trade was a 7.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $966,831.65. This trade represents a 18.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYY has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Sysco from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.77.

Sysco Price Performance

Sysco stock opened at $76.65 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.76. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $69.03 and a 12 month high of $82.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.44%.

About Sysco

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.