Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Has $177,000 Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by 74.8%, selling 9,914 shares and holding 3,348 shares valued at $177,000 as per its latest SEC filing.
• Several investors increased their positions in Synchrony Financial, including Federated Hermes Inc., which grew its holdings by 543.5% to own 538,284 shares valued at approximately $28.5 million.
• Synchrony Financial reported earnings of $2.50 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.30, equating to an annualized yield of 1.7%.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd cut its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 74.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,914 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 30.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 73,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,895,000 after acquiring an additional 17,061 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $11,506,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 25.9% in the first quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,485,000 after acquiring an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 70.2% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 2.5% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 236,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,545,000 after acquiring an additional 5,765 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock traded down $2.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,021,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,300,371. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $73.76. The company has a market cap of $25.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm's 50-day moving average is $65.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.20.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the sale, the insider owned 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

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.