Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 594,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 230,923 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.15% of Synchrony Financial worth $38,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SYF. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Synchrony Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of SYF stock traded up $0.92 on Friday, hitting $68.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,326,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,599,523. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.64. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $35.29 and a 1 year high of $69.39. The company's 50 day moving average price is $66.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.97.

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 company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Synchrony Financial's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 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 issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.