PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,417 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth about $42,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $67.04 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $56.21 and its 200 day moving average is $49.92. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $29.15 and a 12 month high of $67.76. The company has a market capitalization of $26.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.59. 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 (NYSE:SYF) last issued 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. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

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.