Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 162,333 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 906,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 162,333 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Synchrony Financial worth $58,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $67.51 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $38.17 and a 12-month high of $70.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $67.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

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.