Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Mount Lucas Management LP

Mount Lucas Management LP trimmed its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 53.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 64,513 shares during the quarter. Synchrony Financial makes up approximately 0.9% of Mount Lucas Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Mount Lucas Management LP's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $315,381,000 after buying an additional 313,128 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $274,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548,180 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,917,000 after acquiring an additional 727,649 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 2.9% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,496,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $150,748,000 after purchasing an additional 97,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $147,599,000 after buying an additional 492,312 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BTIG Research downgraded Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Synchrony Financial 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.60.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 49.49 % 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 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 owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,571,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,185,031. The stock has a market cap of $25.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $28.84 and a twelve month high of $67.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $54.02 and a 200-day moving average of $49.07.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 13.05%.

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.