Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,212 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $55,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

SYF stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,803,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,667,733. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.90. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $27.30 and a 12 month high of $52.67. The company has a market capitalization of $20.39 billion, a PE ratio of 7.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.