Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Holdings Boosted by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $182,739,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 362.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,552,946 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,826,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,112,000 after purchasing an additional 730,318 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.0% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,907,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,871,000 after purchasing an additional 720,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 99.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,306,000 after purchasing an additional 478,676 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $47.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.23. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $47.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.10.

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.