Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 18,893 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 40.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,893 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 301.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 151.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 807 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 36.6% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm'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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Synchrony Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen 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 company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF traded up $2.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.76. The stock had a trading volume of 5,360,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,330,648. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $37.91 and a 52 week high of $70.93. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.14. The firm has a market cap of $26.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.98, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 13.05%.

Synchrony Financial 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.