Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Has $8.68 Million Stock Position in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,502 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,227 shares during the period. Sysco comprises approximately 1.5% of Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $8,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 18.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Sysco in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sysco by 23.6% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 7,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sysco during the third quarter worth approximately $227,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Sysco by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $3,698,079.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 56,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Price Performance

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $72.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $35.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.32 and a 200 day moving average of $75.54. 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.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. Sysco’s payout ratio is 52.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Sysco from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Sysco in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sysco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.77.

Sysco Company 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.