Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 9.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,249 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,694,000 after buying an additional 19,098 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at $2,192,000. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,773,000 after acquiring an additional 177,051 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,300,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,082,000 after acquiring an additional 342,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 worth $13,569,000 after purchasing an additional 42,293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF stock opened at $64.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.24. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $29.15 and a fifty-two week high of $67.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.60.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company 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.