State of Alaska Department of Revenue Reduces Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 33.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 39,520 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.4% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $997,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.31. 4,234,902 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,933,712. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $27.68 and a 52 week high of $57.37. 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 firm has a market cap of $22.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.61. The company's fifty day moving average is $50.72 and its 200-day moving average is $47.37.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.28 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given 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 a consensus price target of $56.60.

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.