Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Sells 161 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 301.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $67.59 on Tuesday. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $35.29 and a 12 month high of $69.39. The company has a market capitalization of $26.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.05%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen 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 a consensus price target of $64.63.

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.