Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 61.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 244,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 93,400 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned 0.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $12,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 2.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 6.5% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,868,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $310,653,000 after buying an additional 358,708 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $347,903,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $336,942,000 after buying an additional 1,093,922 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 9.1% during 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 worth $297,496,000 after buying an additional 382,194 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Cfra Research upgraded Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,024,030. This trade 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.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF traded up $1.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.90. The company had a trading volume of 3,237,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,310,771. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $73.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $64.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.78. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 14.43%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.56%.

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.