Heritage Investors Management Corp Sells 6,771 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Heritage Investors Management Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 460,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,771 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp owned 0.12% of Synchrony Financial worth $24,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 73,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,895,000 after buying an additional 17,061 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth $11,506,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,485,000 after buying an additional 13,526 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 70.2% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 4,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth $242,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Cfra Research raised Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.22.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of SYF stock opened at $70.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $63.18 and a 200-day moving average of $59.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.55 and a 1-year high of $71.88.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.46%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 108,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $2,441,184.73. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. This 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.

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.

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