Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Holdings Lowered by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 508,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,850 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.13% of Synchrony Financial worth $25,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 313,128 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,917,000 after purchasing an additional 727,649 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,599,000 after purchasing an additional 492,312 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,790,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,668,000 after purchasing an additional 142,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,199,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,714,000 after buying an additional 37,484 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the topic of several analyst reports. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF opened at $67.52 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $26.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $57.60 and a 200-day moving average of $50.47. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $31.26 and a 52-week high of $68.69.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.