CWA Asset Management Group LLC Has $4.92 Million Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 45.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,176 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 2.1% in the fourth 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. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,509,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $358,105,000 after buying an additional 380,870 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $347,903,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $336,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.1% in 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 valued at $297,496,000 after acquiring an additional 382,194 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $44.00 price target (down from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.78.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $61.39. The stock had a trading volume of 2,491,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,908,626. 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 $23.37 billion, a PE ratio of 8.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.67.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 16.46%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

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.