Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Holdings Reduced by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 40.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,893 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 151.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on SYF. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Compass Point lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.50.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 4.6 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $66.68 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $66.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.64. 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 has a 1-year low of $37.91 and a 1-year high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.