Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $2.80 Million Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 56,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 40,521 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $63.65 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.59. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $29.15 and a 12-month high of $67.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.36.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’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 transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, 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 company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SYF shares. Compass Point increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. BTIG Research downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial 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.