Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $788,000 Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,796 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $788,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 39.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 396.1% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 18,171 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 487,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,327,000 after purchasing an additional 10,294 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.6% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.1% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $53.55 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $39.67 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.16 and a 200-day moving average of $60.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.