Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Donoghue Forlines LLC

Donoghue Forlines LLC cut its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 18.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,548 shares during the period. Donoghue Forlines LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 97,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,993,000 after buying an additional 3,757 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 99.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,306,000 after acquiring an additional 478,676 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $877,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 12,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SYF. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, June 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Compass Point began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.61.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:SYF traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $51.65. 1,253,219 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,225,003. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $51.69. The company has a market capitalization of $20.74 billion, a PE ratio of 7.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.10.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

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.