Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 447 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $68.15 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $38.03 and a 52 week high of $70.93. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $67.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $26.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Compass Point cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

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.