Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 5,173 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 64,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,173 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.9% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 41,115,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,195,640,000 after buying an additional 361,844 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,123,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,786,000 after buying an additional 484,220 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.9% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,791,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,483,000 after buying an additional 879,797 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,187,000 after buying an additional 755,856 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,973,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,040,000 after buying an additional 178,344 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $41.57 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.22 and a 200 day moving average of $36.45. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $26.59 and a 52 week high of $43.83.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.44.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106 over the last quarter. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.