Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Wright Investors Service Inc. decreased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,186 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,715 shares during the period. Synchrony Financial comprises approximately 0.9% of Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $315,381,000 after acquiring an additional 313,128 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,917,000 after purchasing an additional 727,649 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $221,830,000 after purchasing an additional 157,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 492,312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, October 14th. BTIG Research downgraded Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Synchrony Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.45.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now 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. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $66.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,941,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,516,237. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.52. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $35.29 and a fifty-two week high of $69.39.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

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.