Banco Santander S.A. Makes New Investment in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. has acquired 21,520 shares of Synchrony Financial, valued at approximately $1,139,000, marking a new position in the company's stock during the first quarter.
• Synchrony Financial reported $2.50 earnings per share, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.72, despite a 1.8% decline in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 14.56%.

Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 21,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,139,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 122,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,939,000 after acquiring an additional 12,896 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 254,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,560,000 after purchasing an additional 50,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.6%

SYF traded up $1.73 during trading on Monday, reaching $69.26. The company had a trading volume of 3,862,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,551,556. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.54 and a 12 month high of $73.76. The business's fifty day moving average price is $65.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.11. The company has a market cap of $25.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.49.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.78. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 14.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $2,441,184.73. Following the sale, the insider owned 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,024,030. This represents a 9.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.