USA Financial Formulas Sells 5,083 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

USA Financial Formulas decreased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,083 shares during the quarter. USA Financial Formulas’ holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Graypoint LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven 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 a consensus price target of $65.45.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $68.12 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $35.29 and a twelve month high of $69.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.66. The firm has a market cap of $26.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.