Lake Street Private Wealth LLC Decreases Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Lake Street Private Wealth LLC decreased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 272 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $240,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 108.4% during the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 7,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 4,089 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 221,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,544,000 after acquiring an additional 15,409 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 136.7% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 54,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,344,000 after acquiring an additional 31,399 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth $222,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $47.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $48.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $44.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.10.

Synchrony Financial 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.