Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Cuts Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC decreased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,720 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $315,381,000 after purchasing an additional 313,128 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,917,000 after buying an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after buying an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,830,000 after buying an additional 157,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 18.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,599,000 after acquiring an additional 492,312 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $65.80 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $65.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.03. 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 twelve month low of $35.29 and a twelve month high of $69.39. The company has a market capitalization of $25.62 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on SYF shares. Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.43.

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.