Stonegate Investment Group LLC Has $361,000 Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 67.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,723 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Sysco by 1,240.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Sysco during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in Sysco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Trading Down 5.9 %

SYY opened at $72.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.38, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Sysco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.03 and a fifty-two week high of $82.89. The company has a market cap of $35.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a return on equity of 101.04% and a net margin of 2.44%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. Sysco’s payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Melius Research upgraded Sysco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Melius began coverage on Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Sysco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sysco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, Director Sheila Talton sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.63, for a total value of $216,427.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $3,698,079.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,408. This trade represents a 46.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,306 shares of company stock worth $6,485,050. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.