Metis Global Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Metis Global Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 641 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SYF. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.60.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 49.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock opened at $64.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.03. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $28.84 and a 52-week 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The firm 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.05%.

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.