Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 271 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,192,000. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after acquiring an additional 177,051 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of 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 worth $56,082,000 after acquiring an additional 342,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 42,293 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

SYF opened at $65.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $25.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $55.81 and its 200-day moving average is $49.78. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $29.15 and a one year high of $67.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BTIG Research downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 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 assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.43.

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.