Amalgamated Bank Has $4.08 Million Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Amalgamated Bank reduced its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 106,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,521 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,187,000 after acquiring an additional 755,856 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,973,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,040,000 after buying an additional 178,344 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,707,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,336,000 after buying an additional 145,466 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,422,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,635,000 after buying an additional 16,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 3,282,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,340,000 after buying an additional 371,304 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on SYF shares. Stephens raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.74.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $45.61 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $26.67 and a 12-month high of $46.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.58.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,437 shares of company stock valued at $7,242,432. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

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.