D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 1,090 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,090 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in 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. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $67.22 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $29.65 and a 52-week high of $67.76. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Synchrony Financial

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.