Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,154 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 8.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,061,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $102,852,000 after acquiring an additional 158,960 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.2% in the third quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 64,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.5% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,664,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $83,015,000 after buying an additional 144,091 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SYF shares. 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 research note on Tuesday. BTIG Research downgraded Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of SYF traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.40. 2,923,237 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,977,225. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $29.15 and a 1 year high of $67.76. The firm's fifty day moving average is $54.69 and its 200-day moving average is $49.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 13.05%.

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.