Synchrony Financial $SYF Stock Sold by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Key Points

• Heritage Investors Management Corp. reduced its Synchrony Financial stake by 7.9%, selling 30,874 shares and retaining 359,205 shares valued at approximately $25.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 96.48% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Synchrony rated a “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.83; ten analysts recommend buying, while nine rate the stock a hold.
• Synchrony reported quarterly EPS of $2.68, exceeding estimates of $2.42, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, representing a 1.8% annualized yield.

Heritage Investors Management Corp cut its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 359,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,874 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp owned 0.12% of Synchrony Financial worth $25,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,349,452,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth $1,122,961,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,039,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $410,760,000 after purchasing an additional 365,353 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,338,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $363,098,000 after acquiring an additional 281,451 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,338,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $295,112,000 after purchasing an additional 37,114 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $87.00 to $81.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.83.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $75.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.64. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $63.08 and a 52 week high of $88.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 5th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 14.20%.

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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