MV Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

MV Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the quarter. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SYF. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.10.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

SYF stock opened at $48.03 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $44.23 and its 200 day moving average is $41.37. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $27.30 and a 12-month high of $48.59. The stock has a market cap of $19.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.89, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.