Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) Stock Position Trimmed by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,716 shares of the company’s stock after selling 522 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $12,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYY. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 8,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sysco by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 14,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lifted its position in Sysco by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 30,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,457,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Neil Russell sold 1,722 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $137,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,926,560. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

NYSE:SYY traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $75.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,709,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,778,819. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $62.24 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.77. The company has a market capitalization of $37.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.65 and a 200-day moving average of $75.31.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.74 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 99.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Sysco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Sysco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Sysco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Sysco from $92.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.56.

Sysco 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.