RWC Asset Management LLP Sells 1,660 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

RWC Asset Management LLP reduced its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,660 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 126.9% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 60,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 33,631 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $131,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 501,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,169,000 after purchasing an additional 46,036 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $742,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 150,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,732,000 after purchasing an additional 9,163 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. Stephens boosted 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 report on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.0 %

SYF traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.67. 3,698,809 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,315,406. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.86. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $26.59 and a fifty-two week high of $45.46. The stock has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.41, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106 in the last quarter. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.