Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 16,091 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 511,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,091 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.12% of Synchrony Financial worth $19,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,707,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,336,000 after acquiring an additional 145,466 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 46,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 15,666 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,054,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,812,000 after acquiring an additional 50,495 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,422,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,635,000 after buying an additional 16,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 760,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,247,000 after buying an additional 60,838 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented 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. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.75.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, 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 owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 approximately $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $42.28 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $40.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $26.59 and a one year high of $43.83. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.