Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 21.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,253 shares during the quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,381,000 after purchasing an additional 313,128 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in 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 in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,917,000 after buying an additional 727,649 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $150,748,000 after buying an additional 97,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,599,000 after buying an additional 492,312 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF stock opened at $65.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.75. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $29.15 and a fifty-two week high of $67.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend 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.