Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont reduced its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 246 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 995.4% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,599,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,448,000 after acquiring an additional 5,088,262 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $182,739,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after buying an additional 2,548,180 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 362.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,688,000 after buying an additional 1,552,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,266,000 after buying an additional 674,366 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.0 %

NYSE:SYF traded up $0.87 on Wednesday, hitting $45.18. 1,334,327 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,178,760. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.44. 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 company has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a PE ratio of 6.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $52.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

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

Synchrony Financial Company 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.