Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $4.30 Million Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,297 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on SYF. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $64.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $35.29 and a 1 year high of $69.39.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.05%.

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.