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

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,249 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SYF. Boston Partners boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548,180 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 402.8% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,739,000 after buying an additional 1,217,872 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,917,000 after acquiring an additional 727,649 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 400.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 842,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,751,000 after acquiring an additional 674,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 1,043.9% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 655,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,916,000 after acquiring an additional 597,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.60.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock opened at $64.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $24.94 billion, a PE ratio of 8.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. 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 price of $54.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.24. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $29.15 and a 12-month high of $67.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.05%.

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.