Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 55,522 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sysco were worth $4,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sysco by 1,240.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Sysco during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in Sysco in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Sysco in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Sysco during the third quarter worth $38,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco Stock Performance

Shares of SYY stock opened at $71.13 on Friday. Sysco Co. has a 52-week low of $69.03 and a 52-week high of $82.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66. The stock has a market cap of $34.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.90.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Sysco to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Sysco from $93.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 21,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,747,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 60,581 shares in the company, valued at $4,846,480. The trade was a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Eve M. Mcfadden sold 6,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,876,080. This trade represents a 11.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 79,270 shares of company stock valued at $6,181,946. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.