Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,069,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,160 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.27% of Synchrony Financial worth $53,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,694,000 after purchasing an additional 19,098 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $2,192,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.1% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 998,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,011,000 after buying an additional 30,366 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 35.8% during the first 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 acquiring an additional 342,979 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $64.98 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.89. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $28.84 and a 1-year high of $67.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This represents a 49.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BTIG Research cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given 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 an average target price of $56.60.

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.