Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Sells 8,413 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 37.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,413 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SYF. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5,787.5% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 36.3% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $221,245.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,425.92. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,402.17. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of several analyst reports. HSBC upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.56.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $84.48 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $30.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.46. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.54 and a 12 month high of $86.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.10%.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.