Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 7,715 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Wright Investors Service Inc. decreased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 43,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,715 shares during the quarter. Synchrony Financial comprises about 0.9% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 22.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,773,000 after acquiring an additional 177,051 shares during the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $951,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 443,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,917,000 after purchasing an additional 36,865 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 119.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,123,000 after purchasing an additional 132,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $544,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Seven 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.45.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $64.88 on Tuesday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $35.29 and a 52-week high of $69.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.52. The company has a market capitalization of $25.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.