Rathbones Group PLC Decreases Holdings in Sysco Corporation $SYY

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its position in shares of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) by 15.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,896 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,264 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Sysco were worth $3,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SYY. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Sysco in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sysco by 87.6% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sysco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sysco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 83.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sysco News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Sysco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fourth-quarter results exceeded expectations. Sysco reported $22.1 billion in sales, up 4.7% year over year and above the $21.95 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS was $1.53, topping expectations of $1.51 and increasing from $1.48 a year earlier. Operating income rose 10.6% to $983 million. Reuters earnings article
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued an upbeat fiscal 2027 outlook. Sysco expects sales growth of 6%-7% and adjusted EPS growth of 9%-11%, above analyst expectations of roughly 5% EPS growth. The forecast includes approximately $100 million in cost savings from AI-enabled productivity, inventory, routing and back-office initiatives. Sysco fiscal 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying demand remained healthy. U.S. Foodservice case volume increased 2.5%, local volume rose 2.6%, and international sales grew 6.7%. Operating cash flow increased to $2.6 billion, while free cash flow rose 16.3% to $2.1 billion. Sysco also returned $1.2 billion to shareholders through dividends and repurchases.
• Neutral Sentiment: International operations were a notable growth contributor. International adjusted operating income increased 15.7% in the quarter, although part of reported sales growth benefited from currency movements.
• Negative Sentiment: Lettuce sourcing was halted because of the outbreak. CEO Kevin Hourican said Sysco stopped buying iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms and Mexico amid the cyclosporiasis outbreak. The precaution may protect customers and limit food-safety risk, but it could create temporary sourcing costs or availability issues. Reuters lettuce sourcing article
• Negative Sentiment: Margins remained a concern. Fourth-quarter gross margin fell 17 basis points to 18.7% as product-cost inflation reached 2.8%. For the full year, GAAP net earnings declined 3.9% and diluted EPS fell 1.9%, while higher interest expense and leverage remain relevant risks.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SYY. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Sysco from $83.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Sysco from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sysco in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Melius Research lowered Sysco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Sysco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $84.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sysco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sysco

In other news, Director John M. Hinshaw bought 13,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $75.17 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,061.68. Following the purchase, the director owned 40,200 shares in the company, valued at $3,021,834. This represents a 49.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Sysco Trading Down 2.4%

Sysco stock opened at $82.98 on Wednesday. Sysco Corporation has a 12-month low of $68.19 and a 12-month high of $91.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.79 and a 200 day moving average of $80.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.58.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $22.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.95 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.08% and a return on equity of 103.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Sysco has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.025-5.117 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 1.180-1.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Sysco Corporation will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Sysco Profile

Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) is a global foodservice distribution company that supplies a broad range of food and related products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments, and other foodservice customers. Its core business is the procurement, warehousing and delivery of fresh, frozen and dry food products, complemented by non-food items such as paper goods, kitchen equipment, cleaning supplies and tabletop products. Sysco serves customers through an extensive network of distribution centers and dedicated delivery fleets, positioning itself as a one-stop supplier for operators of all sizes.

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Sysco has grown through both organic expansion and acquisitions.