Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Has $9.92 Million Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,848 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd owned about 0.05% of Synchrony Financial worth $9,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the 2nd 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. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,192,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,266,000 after purchasing an additional 674,366 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 98.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 11,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 490,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,134,000 after acquiring an additional 168,920 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock opened at $55.15 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.00. The company has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.91, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $27.65 and a 52-week high of $57.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.19 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by 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.