M&T Bank Corp Reduces Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 343 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 31.5% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 4,732 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after acquiring an additional 4,287 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,694,000 after acquiring an additional 19,098 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 134.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 53.8% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 24,375 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

SYF opened at $68.06 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $35.29 and a 12 month high of $69.39. 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 50-day moving average of $61.22 and a 200 day moving average of $52.25. The firm has a market cap of $26.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Compass Point upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.53.

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.