Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Lowers Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 219,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,053 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.05% of Synchrony Financial worth $10,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 15.4% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 38,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,649,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 35,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.3% during the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 90,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,896,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 34,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SYF. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Baird R W raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.41.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

Synchrony Financial stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $47.01. The stock had a trading volume of 636,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,130,508. The company has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.97. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $27.30 and a one year high of $52.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

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.