Synchrony Financial $SYF Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D has reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by 11.0%, owning 127,620 shares valued at approximately $6.76 million after selling 15,723 shares.
• Synchrony Financial reported $2.50 EPS for its last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.72, alongside a revenue of $3.65 billion despite a 1.8% decline year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.7% and a payout ratio of 14.56%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 127,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,723 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,420,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,563,358,000 after purchasing an additional 281,383 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,868,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $310,653,000 after buying an additional 358,708 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,858,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $310,145,000 after buying an additional 706,212 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $336,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,576,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $297,496,000 after acquiring an additional 382,194 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.5%

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $71.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.72, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $73.76. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.21.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,494 shares of company stock worth $1,376,450 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

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.

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