Royal Bank of Canada Sells 508,082 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 36.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 875,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 508,082 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.22% of Synchrony Financial worth $56,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the topic of several research reports. Cfra Research raised Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:SYF opened at $59.79 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.55 and a fifty-two week high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $52.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.44.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.46%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.