Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stake Reduced by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 534,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,155 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $34,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 389.8% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,797,000 after buying an additional 906,172 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,088,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 589.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 644,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,133,000 after acquiring an additional 550,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,756,000 after acquiring an additional 481,750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

SYF stock opened at $67.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $26.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $38.17 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.88.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid 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 of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 11.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by 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.