Gallacher Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 9,005 Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 9,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $477,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $650,678,000 after buying an additional 205,641 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $347,903,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.7% during 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 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 shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $70.80. 5,724,616 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,846,572. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $63.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.46. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.55 and a fifty-two week high of $71.88.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.78. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,024,030. This represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.22.

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.