180 Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

180 Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 186 shares during the quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,381,000 after buying an additional 313,128 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,917,000 after buying an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after buying an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,830,000 after purchasing an additional 157,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,599,000 after purchasing an additional 492,312 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $68.12 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.66. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $35.29 and a one year high of $69.39.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.05%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Compass Point lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.45.

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.