CIBC Asset Management Inc Lowers Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 6.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 64,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,447 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 995.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,599,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,448,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088,262 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth $182,739,000. Boston Partners grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548,180 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 362.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after purchasing an additional 674,366 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $48.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.98, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.37 and a 200 day moving average of $44.72. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $27.30 and a 52 week high of $52.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BTIG Research started coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.41.

About Synchrony Financial

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.