Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Cuts Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,316 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.6% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BTIG Research started coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.50.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of SYF stock traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $50.78. 1,803,892 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,667,733. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.00 and a 200 day moving average of $42.90. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $52.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

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.