Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 31.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,138 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.5% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 4,732 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 4,287 shares during the period. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,694,000 after purchasing an additional 19,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 134.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.53.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $68.05 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.12. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $35.29 and a 52 week high of $69.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.05%.

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.