Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Decreases Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 594,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 230,923 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.15% of Synchrony Financial worth $38,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 47.3% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 27,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 8,732 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 564.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 194,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,170,000 after acquiring an additional 165,090 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $201,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 247,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,826,000 after acquiring an additional 7,905 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 61,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 9,559 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $68.73 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $35.29 and a 1-year high of $69.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Compass Point upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.45.

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.