Diversified Trust Co Increases Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 136.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,399 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $182,739,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,826,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,112,000 after acquiring an additional 730,318 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,707,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,336,000 after acquiring an additional 145,466 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,588,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,032,000 after purchasing an additional 165,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 3,282,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,340,000 after purchasing an additional 371,304 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $48.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 6.90, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $27.30 and a 52-week high of $48.36.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released 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). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SYF shares. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.