Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Decreases Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 559 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $48.03 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $19.29 billion, a PE ratio of 6.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $48.59.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. Bank of America raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.10.

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.