Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 18.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,459 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,403 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $598,000. Center For Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 64.4% during the first quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 18,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 7,393 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 47.4% in the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 4,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at about $259,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 43.9% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 146,628 shares in the company, valued at $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,024,030. This represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $70.25 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.89 and a 200-day moving average of $59.48. The firm has a market cap of $26.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.55 and a twelve month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 19.68%. Analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 16.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SYF. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.78.

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.