Cohen Klingenstein LLC Sells 1,642 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Cohen Klingenstein LLC cut its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,642 shares during the quarter. Cohen Klingenstein LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $407,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth $2,011,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 16,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 32,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,108,000 after purchasing an additional 4,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.4 %

SYF opened at $68.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $35.29 and a 52 week high of $69.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.83. The firm has a market cap of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SYF. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.45.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.