Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. Acquires New Shares in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. bought a new position in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 27,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,156,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Sysco by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,237,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,562,000 after purchasing an additional 166,798 shares during the period. New England Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 12.7% in the third quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,254,000 after buying an additional 14,810 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Sysco by 3,159.0% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 7,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 6,855 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sysco by 29.0% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,115,000 after acquiring an additional 17,587 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Sysco by 11.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 672,940 shares in the last quarter. 83.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on SYY. StockNews.com downgraded Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Sysco from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sysco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other Sysco news, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $519,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,080. The trade was a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total transaction of $216,427.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,955 shares in the company, valued at $966,831.65. This represents a 18.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,279 shares of company stock valued at $2,786,971 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of SYY opened at $81.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.19. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $76.00 and its 200-day moving average is $74.89. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89.

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

Sysco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio 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.