Simplicity Wealth LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Simplicity Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,280 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Boston Partners lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,548,180 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 402.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,872 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,917,000 after acquiring an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after acquiring an additional 674,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 400.2% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 842,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,751,000 after purchasing an additional 674,093 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $53.15 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $27.30 and a 52-week high of $53.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $21.01 billion, a PE ratio of 7.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.21.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.81 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Baird R W raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.