Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Purchases Shares of 278,957 Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired 278,957 shares of Synchrony Financial valued at approximately $14.8 million during the first quarter, increasing its stake in the company to 0.07%.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Synchrony Financial, with some raising stakes by over 24% in the last quarter.
• Synchrony Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with a payout ratio of 14.56% and an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 278,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,768,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.07% of Synchrony Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 122,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,939,000 after acquiring an additional 12,896 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 254,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,560,000 after acquiring an additional 50,779 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SYF. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $67.43 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.49. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.54 and a 12-month high of $73.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.78. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.56%.

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 transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 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 transaction, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. This represents a 9.53% 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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