GDS Wealth Management Sells 1,827 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

GDS Wealth Management lessened its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 37,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,827 shares during the quarter. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,381,000 after buying an additional 313,128 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548,180 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth $182,739,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.9% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,496,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,748,000 after purchasing an additional 97,235 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.4% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,790,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $131,668,000 after purchasing an additional 142,306 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.41.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $47.33 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.79, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $48.28 and its 200 day moving average is $45.11. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $27.30 and a 12 month high of $52.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

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.