Deutsche Bank AG Reduces Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG has reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.0%, selling 59,560 shares, retaining a total of approximately 2,847,872 shares valued at $150.77 million.
• Synchrony Financial reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.50 for the last quarter, significantly surpassing analysts' estimates of $1.72, despite a slight decrease in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, yielding an annualized rate of 1.7%, with the payment scheduled for August 15 to stockholders of record as of August 5.

Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,847,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 59,560 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.75% of Synchrony Financial worth $150,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 355.9% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 693 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 89.0% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 55.6% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 862 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 503.7% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 972 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SYF. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.6%

SYF traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.92. The company had a trading volume of 1,161,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,109,957. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $73.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.49. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $67.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.17.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.78. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.56%.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 68,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,801,160. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 61,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,817,635. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.