Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,329 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,329 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 786.6% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.41.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE SYF traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.26. 2,433,247 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,068,097. The company has a market cap of $19.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $27.30 and a one year high of $52.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Synchrony Financial

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.