Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Sells 4,355 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC decreased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,355 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 11,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SYF. Wall Street Zen upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $57.45. The company had a trading volume of 2,520,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,904,781. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.55 and a 52-week high of $70.93. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $53.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.00. The company has a market capitalization of $21.87 billion, a PE ratio of 6.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.46%.

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.