Synchrony Financial $SYF Shares Sold by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors reduced its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,864 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 20,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.6% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 12,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 2,510 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 11,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 3,251 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,269,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,138,000 after buying an additional 6,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $86.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.46. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $86.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $77.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Synchrony Financial’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $221,245.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,425.92. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 127,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,252,880. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. HSBC raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.33.

Synchrony Financial Profile

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.