15,788 Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Bought by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $836,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 5,952 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth $10,530,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 114,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 146,628 shares in the company, valued at $8,807,943.96. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.78.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of SYF stock opened at $70.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.46. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.55 and a 12-month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 19.68%. As a group, analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.46%.

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.

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