AIA Group Ltd Buys 10,497 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 79.3%, acquiring an additional 10,497 shares, bringing its total holdings to 23,734 shares valued at $1,256,000.
• Several other institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Synchrony Financial, with institutional ownership now at 96.48% of the company's stock.
• Synchrony Financial's latest earnings report revealed a strong performance with $2.50 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, despite a slight decline in revenue year-over-year.

AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 79.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,497 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 11,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Invst LLC now owns 20,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,336,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 103,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,697,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 12.0% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 2,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 108,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,024,030. This represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total value of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 61,133 shares of company stock worth $3,817,635. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. BTIG Research raised Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $69.64 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.09. The stock has a market cap of $25.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.49. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $73.76.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 14.56%.

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.

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