Pitcairn Co. Sells 4,288 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Pitcairn Co. lessened its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,288 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% in the second 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. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at $2,192,000. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after buying an additional 177,051 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 35.8% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 342,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 287,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,569,000 after buying an additional 42,293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $65.99 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $29.15 and a one year high of $67.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $55.81 and a 200-day moving average of $49.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $25.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.59.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors 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 yield of 1.52%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 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 transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.