Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Buys 5,348 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 90,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,348 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth $1,962,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth $459,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 108,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,142,000 after purchasing an additional 33,867 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 58.1% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 280,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,646,000 after purchasing an additional 103,222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106 in the last 90 days. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $39.68 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $41.12 and its 200 day moving average is $36.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $16.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $26.59 and a one year high of $43.83.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 19.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SYF. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.44.

Synchrony Financial 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.