Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Has $212,000 Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,072 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $212,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during 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 acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth about $2,192,000. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 22.7% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after buying an additional 177,051 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,300,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,082,000 after buying an additional 342,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 287,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,569,000 after acquiring an additional 42,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $65.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.81 and its 200-day moving average is $49.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $29.15 and a 1-year high of $67.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted 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 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 last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SYF. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.43.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial 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 sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.