Portfolio Design Labs LLC Decreases Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 89.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 39,975 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 417.6% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 26,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,157,000 after buying an additional 21,642 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 236,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,183,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,300,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,082,000 after buying an additional 342,979 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on 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 owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of SYF opened at $64.40 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $29.15 and a 52-week high of $67.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $55.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.47. The stock has a market cap of $25.07 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.59.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company 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 company posted $1.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on SYF. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.43.

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.