Insider Selling: Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Insider Sells 74,698 Shares of Stock

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE SYF traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $47.63. The stock had a trading volume of 2,033,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,164,351. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $27.30 and a 52-week high of $52.67. The company has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SYF. Barclays boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Baird R W upgraded Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,962,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 149.8% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $815,000 after acquiring an additional 12,798 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $955,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 39,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,113 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 82,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,152,000 after buying an additional 15,394 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% 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.