Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $9.17 Million Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 564.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 194,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 165,090 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $9,170,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 102.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 21,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 10,931 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 47.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 27,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,284,000 after buying an additional 8,732 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.3% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 18.2% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 519,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,528,000 after buying an additional 79,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $657,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’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 owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $50.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $27.30 and a 52 week high of $52.67. The firm has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a PE ratio of 7.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $48.38 and its 200-day moving average is $45.34.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SYF. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

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.