Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 87,327 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 330,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 87,327 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of Synchrony Financial worth $9,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 853.5% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,218,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $216,471,000 after buying an additional 5,566,481 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $151,220,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $61,172,000. Ruffer LLP lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 223.4% during the 4th quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 2,024,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1,942.1% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,353,639 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,364,000 after buying an additional 1,287,354 shares during the last quarter. 92.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 36,610 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $1,263,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 565,240 shares in the company, valued at $19,500,780. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $34.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.60. The company's fifty day moving average is $33.80 and its 200 day moving average is $32.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $26.59 and a twelve month high of $40.88.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 12.90%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 4.92 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 25th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 28th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.52%.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $29.00 price target (up from $28.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Citigroup cut their target price on Synchrony Financial from $44.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on SYF

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 cards, 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 to retail and commercial customers, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.

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