Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Hosking Partners LLP

Key Points

• Hosking Partners LLP reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.9%, selling 7,379 shares during the 1st quarter, yet the stock still represents 1.8% of its portfolio.
• Recent analyst upgrades include Royal Bank of Canada raising the price target on Synchrony Financial shares from $75.00 to $78.00 and BTIG Research upgrading the stock to a "buy" with a price objective of $100.00.
• Synchrony Financial reported earnings of $2.50 per share for the last quarter, significantly surpassing analysts' estimates of $1.72, despite revenue falling short of expectations at $3.65 billion.

Hosking Partners LLP lessened its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 787,244 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,379 shares during the period. Synchrony Financial makes up approximately 1.8% of Hosking Partners LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Hosking Partners LLP owned 0.21% of Synchrony Financial worth $41,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth about $34,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 355.9% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 693 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 89.0% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 788 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $2,441,184.73. Following the transaction, the insider owned 146,628 shares in the company, valued at $8,807,943.96. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,133 shares of company stock worth $3,817,635 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $72.33. 1,484,038 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,112,347. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $67.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.17. The stock has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.49. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.54 and a 12 month high of $73.76.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 14.56%.

Synchrony Financial 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.