Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Increases Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 247,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,905 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned approximately 0.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $11,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth $182,739,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,892,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548,180 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 362.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,552,946 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 402.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.5% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after purchasing an additional 674,366 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $51.04 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $52.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.32, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.62.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.41.

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.