ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Takes $742,000 Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. made a new investment in Synchrony Financial, purchasing 14,019 shares valued at approximately $742,000 in the first quarter.
• Synchrony Financial reported $2.50 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates of $1.72, although revenue decreased by 1.8% compared to the previous year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.7%, to be paid on August 15th to shareholders of record on August 5th.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $742,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 5,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,420,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,563,358,000 after acquiring an additional 281,383 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 14.0% in the first quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,872 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 6,013 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth $1,999,000. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 19.4% in the first quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 31,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,664,000 after purchasing an additional 5,102 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SYF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF traded up $2.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,515,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,690,912. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $73.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $26.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.07 and a 200-day moving average of $60.17.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $739,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,024,030. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 company insiders.

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.