Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 355.9% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 693 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 810 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 55.6% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 862 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 503.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 972 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.53.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $70.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,353,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,841,807. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $40.55 and a one year high of $71.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.60 and a 200 day moving average of $59.79. The firm has a market cap of $26.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.46. 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 (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 19.68%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 16.46%.

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.