Pitcairn Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Pitcairn Co. lowered its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 14.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,288 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Graypoint LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BTIG Research lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $65.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $25.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.59. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $29.15 and a 1 year high of $67.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.78.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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 $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.