Aurora Investment Counsel Boosts Holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY)

Aurora Investment Counsel increased its holdings in Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY - Free Report) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,913 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,575 shares during the quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel's holdings in Sysco were worth $1,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sysco by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Morton Community Bank raised its stake in Sysco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 40,585 shares of the company's stock worth $3,103,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Sysco by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 430 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC raised its stake in Sysco by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the company's stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in Sysco by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 19,160 shares of the company's stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.41% of the company's stock.

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Sysco Price Performance

SYY traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $74.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,950,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,097,761. The business's 50-day moving average price is $73.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.49. Sysco Co. has a 12 month low of $69.03 and a 12 month high of $82.33. The stock has a market cap of $36.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.93. Sysco had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 106.30%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sysco Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sysco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Sysco's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Sysco from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Sysco in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a "hold" rating and a $85.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Sysco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sysco from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sysco news, EVP Greg D. Bertrand sold 48,027 shares of Sysco stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 56,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,335,408. The trade was a 46.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.