USA Financial Formulas Lowers Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

USA Financial Formulas reduced its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $68.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $35.29 and a 1 year high of $69.39. The company has a market cap of $26.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.89, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $66.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.66.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on 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 raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.45.

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.