Artemis Investment Management LLP Acquires 92,426 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 257.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 92,426 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,963,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $650,678,000 after purchasing an additional 205,641 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $347,903,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $336,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,922 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,576,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $297,496,000 after acquiring an additional 382,194 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,602,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $234,157,000 after acquiring an additional 471,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. This represents a 9.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $2,441,184.73. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.6%

SYF traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.20. 3,960,706 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,883,030. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.55 and a 52 week high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 16.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SYF. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.78.

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.