Highland Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 137,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,624 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Delphia USA Inc. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Delphia USA Inc. now owns 9,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.9% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 in the company, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106. 0.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $42.28 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $26.59 and a 12-month high of $43.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.10 and its 200 day moving average is $35.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.10. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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