Synchrony Financial $SYF Shares Sold by Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super

Key Points

• Aware Super reduced its Synchrony Financial stake by 28.4% in the third quarter, selling 155,367 shares and retaining 391,896 shares valued at approximately $27.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 96.48% of SYF.
• Synchrony shares opened at $76.78, up 1.9%, after the company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $2.68 in EPS versus the $2.42 consensus estimate and reported $3.82 billion in revenue.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing a 1.8% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $87.78, despite mixed individual target revisions.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super trimmed its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 391,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 155,367 shares during the period. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super owned about 0.13% of Synchrony Financial worth $27,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth $2,349,452,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at $1,122,961,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 6.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,039,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $410,760,000 after buying an additional 365,353 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 5.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,338,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $363,098,000 after buying an additional 281,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.9% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,338,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $295,112,000 after acquiring an additional 37,114 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.9%

SYF opened at $76.78 on Tuesday. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $63.08 and a twelve month high of $88.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.63. The company has a market cap of $23.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.35.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 22.26%. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.60 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 5th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SYF shares. Evercore lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $78.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.78.

Synchrony Financial Profile

Synchrony Financial NYSE: SYF is a consumer financial services company that provides private-label credit cards, co-branded credit cards and promotional financing programs. Its financing products are offered through retailers, manufacturers, healthcare providers and other businesses, helping consumers pay for purchases over time.

The company serves a range of industries, including digital commerce, home improvement, furniture, automotive, healthcare, jewelry, apparel, electronics and specialty retail.

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