Independent Advisor Alliance Reduces Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Independent Advisor Alliance cut its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 347 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $67.22 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $29.65 and a 52 week high of $67.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.94 and a 200 day moving average of $50.20. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Synchrony Financial 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.