Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Acquires Shares of 11,305 Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Center For Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 64.4% in the 1st quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 18,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 7,393 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 47.4% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 4,540 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $259,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 45,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,411,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $44.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.78.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.94 on Thursday, hitting $65.87. The company had a trading volume of 2,208,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,895,595. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.44. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.55 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.25 and a 200-day moving average of $59.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 13.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.