Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Cuts Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 539,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,320 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $25,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

SYF stock opened at $49.88 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.64. The company has a market cap of $19.71 billion, a PE ratio of 7.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.62. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Baird R W upgraded Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.