Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Position Decreased by Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 53.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 197,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 227,744 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $9,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,694,000 after buying an additional 19,098 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the first quarter valued at about $2,192,000. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,773,000 after buying an additional 177,051 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at about $951,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 134.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.68.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $67.92 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $34.42 and a 12 month high of $69.00. 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’s 50 day moving average is $59.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.31. The company has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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