Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Brighton Jones LLC

Brighton Jones LLC reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 29.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,766 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,381,000 after purchasing an additional 313,128 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after buying an additional 2,548,180 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,496,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,748,000 after buying an additional 97,235 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,599,000 after buying an additional 492,312 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 5.4% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,790,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,668,000 after buying an additional 142,306 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

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

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $50.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.26, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.34. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $27.30 and a 52 week high of $52.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued 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 dividend yield of 1.98%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 14.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.41.

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.