Toronto Dominion Bank Sells 66,154 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Toronto Dominion Bank decreased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 33.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 132,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,154 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

SYF stock opened at $68.06 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $35.29 and a twelve month high of $69.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. 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 simple moving average is $61.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.18.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Activity 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on SYF. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.53.

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.