Swiss National Bank Trims Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,172,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.30% of Synchrony Financial worth $58,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 184,577 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,207,000 after buying an additional 12,336 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 158,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,927,000 after buying an additional 54,292 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 67,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,380,000 after buying an additional 3,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade 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.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

SYF stock traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.40. 2,928,671 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,977,224. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $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 PE ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $29.15 and a 1-year high of $67.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.43.

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.