115,630 Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Bought by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 115,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,986,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $60,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research started coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.10.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 6.7 %

SYF stock opened at $47.19 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $27.30 and a twelve month high of $47.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.77, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

About Synchrony Financial

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.