International Assets Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 51,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,962,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 41,115,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,195,640,000 after purchasing an additional 361,844 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,123,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $282,786,000 after purchasing an additional 484,220 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,791,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $197,483,000 after purchasing an additional 879,797 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,187,000 after purchasing an additional 755,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,973,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,040,000 after acquiring an additional 178,344 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $41.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $26.59 and a 1 year high of $43.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.40.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.