Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 1,316 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,316 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 35.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,300,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,082,000 after purchasing an additional 342,979 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 236,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Delap Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $301,000. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 94,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,054,000 after buying an additional 16,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 767.0% during the 1st quarter. Ossiam now owns 419,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,091,000 after buying an additional 371,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.50.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,803,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,667,733. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $27.30 and a 12 month high of $52.67. The firm has a market cap of $20.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.29, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.00 and a 200-day moving average of $42.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 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 the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial 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.