Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. decreased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,669 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE SYF traded up $0.50 on Thursday, hitting $50.38. 2,363,724 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,223,551. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $27.30 and a twelve month high of $52.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.70.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. Analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.50.

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.