Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 714 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 714 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $67.14 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $58.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.88. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $33.51 and a fifty-two week high of $69.00. The company has a market cap of $26.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.68.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % 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 Company 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.