Redwood Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Redwood Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 29.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,268 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $60.03. 3,001,421 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,937,386. The firm has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of 7.03, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.55 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The stock's fifty day moving average is $52.10 and its 200 day moving average is $60.41.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.95.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the 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 now directly owns 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.