Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by M&G Plc

M&G Plc lessened its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,605 shares during the quarter. M&G Plc’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $63.79 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.41 and a 200-day moving average of $48.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $28.84 and a 1 year high of $67.76. The company has a market capitalization of $24.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.59.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

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.