Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,671 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SYF. National Pension Service lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after purchasing an additional 177,051 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 119.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,123,000 after buying an additional 132,047 shares in the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at $544,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 487,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,327,000 after buying an additional 10,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth about $985,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF opened at $65.92 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.62. The company has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $38.03 and a 1 year high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 11.71%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was 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 link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.