Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $39.39 Million Stake in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 12.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 554,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 78,369 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $39,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 640,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,934,000 after buying an additional 74,029 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $522,000. Summit Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $766,000. Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.3% in the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 21,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.0% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,900,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297,859 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $221,245.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,425.92. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 108,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,014,219.42. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892 over the last 90 days. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on SYF. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.56.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.0%

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $84.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $76.17 and its 200-day moving average is $72.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.46. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $86.22.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial Profile

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.