Kwmg LLC Lowers Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Kwmg LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 112,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,985 shares during the period. Kwmg LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $7,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. National Pension Service raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after acquiring an additional 177,051 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $951,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 9.1% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 443,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,917,000 after buying an additional 36,865 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 119.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,123,000 after buying an additional 132,047 shares during the period. Finally, Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at about $544,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.45.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % 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 Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE SYF traded up $1.11 on Monday, reaching $64.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,621,404 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,390,192. 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.72 and a 200-day moving average of $55.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a PE ratio of 8.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.