Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,138 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,694,000 after purchasing an additional 19,098 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after buying an additional 177,051 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $951,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 134.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.1% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 443,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,917,000 after acquiring an additional 36,865 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SYF. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Compass Point boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays raised 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.53.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $68.05 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $35.29 and a 12-month high of $69.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.12.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released 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. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. 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 business posted $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

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

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.