Whittier Trust Co. Sells 595 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Whittier Trust Co. decreased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 595 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,694,000 after acquiring an additional 19,098 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the first quarter valued at about $2,192,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after purchasing an additional 674,366 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 98.6% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 11,846 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 52.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 490,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,134,000 after purchasing an additional 168,920 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of SYF traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $49.92. 691,240 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,068,670. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $52.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.68 and its 200-day moving average is $44.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Compass Point initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.41.

About Synchrony Financial

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.