Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,219 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,219 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 38,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 35,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 90,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,896,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 34,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,987.60. 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 $48.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.01, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.58 and its 200-day moving average is $44.23. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $52.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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 $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

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.