Amalgamated Bank Cuts Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Amalgamated Bank cut its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 9.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,232 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 35,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% during the second quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 31,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 90,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,896,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 34,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.41.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE SYF opened at $50.57 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $27.30 and a one year high of $52.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.31.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.