Archford Capital Strategies LLC Takes Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Archford Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 14,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $775,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SYF. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 355.9% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 693 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 55.6% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 862 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1,107.4% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cfra Research upgraded Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider now owns 146,628 shares in the company, valued at $8,807,943.96. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.5%

Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $65.87. The stock had a trading volume of 2,210,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,895,604. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.55 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.54.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 13.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 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.