Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 8,796 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 23.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,796 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,963,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $650,678,000 after purchasing an additional 205,641 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $347,903,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 valued at $336,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,922 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,602,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $234,157,000 after buying an additional 471,958 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target 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. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.4%

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $70.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.55 and a 52 week high of $71.88.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 19.68%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 16.46%.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.