Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 10,624 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 137,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,624 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 325,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,438,000 after acquiring an additional 74,080 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 3,282,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,340,000 after acquiring an additional 371,304 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,390,000. CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 354,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,538,000 after purchasing an additional 70,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.7 %

SYF stock opened at $42.28 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.17. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $26.59 and a 12 month high of $43.83. The company has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.10. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

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.