Sienna Gestion Lowers Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• Sienna Gestion reduced its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 38.2%, owning 11,674 shares worth $601,000 after selling 7,220 shares during the first quarter.
• Other hedge funds like Allspring Global Investments and Merit Financial Group increased their stakes, with Allspring raising its holdings by 30.4% and Merit by 70.2% in the same quarter.
• Synchrony Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30, with a dividend yield of 1.6%, set to be paid on August 15th to stockholders of record on August 5th.

Sienna Gestion reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 38.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,674 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,220 shares during the quarter. Sienna Gestion's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.0% during the 4th 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. Invst LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 20,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 103,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,697,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 2,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded down $1.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.48. 2,841,657 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,793,492. The firm has a market cap of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $73.76. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $67.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.19.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 14.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.05.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,227.40. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 61,133 shares of company stock worth $3,817,635. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.