Is SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY) a buy here? Hedge funds are buying. The number of bullish hedge fund positions improved by 1 recently.
At the moment, there are tons of indicators market participants can use to track publicly traded companies. Some of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can outclass their index-focused peers by a very impressive amount (see just how much).
Just as integral, bullish insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of stimuli for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).
Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a gander at the key action surrounding SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY).
What does the smart money think about SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY)?
In preparation for this year, a total of 14 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 8% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.
Of the funds we track, Yacktman Asset Management, managed by Donald Yacktman, holds the largest position in SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY). Yacktman Asset Management has a $905.8 million position in the stock, comprising 5.4% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Jean-Marie Eveillard of First Eagle Investment Management, with a $763.6 million position; the fund has 2.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers with similar optimism include Ric Dillon’s Diamond Hill Capital, Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management and Tom Gayner’s Markel Gayner Asset Management.
As industrywide interest jumped, key money managers have jumped into SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY) headfirst. Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, established the most valuable position in SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY). Citadel Investment Group had 8.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Harding’s Winton Capital Management also made a $1.3 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new SYY positions are Martin D. Sass’s MD Sass, SAC Subsidiary’s Sigma Capital Management, and Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital Advisors.
How are insiders trading SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY)?
Insider buying is best served when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 7 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY). These stocks are AMCON Distributing Co. (NYSEAMEX:DIT), Nash-Finch Company (NASDAQ:NAFC), Spartan Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPTN), The Chefs Warehouse, Inc (NASDAQ:CHEF), and United Natural Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNFI). This group of stocks are the members of the food wholesale industry and their market caps match SYY’s market cap.
