Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $4.30 Million Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,297 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SYF. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Compass Point raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $64.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.75. The stock has a market cap of $25.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. 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.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

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.