Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Grows Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 755.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,179,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,925,217 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.56% of Synchrony Financial worth $115,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth approximately $315,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 12.4% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,975 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1,245.8% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 232,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,291,000 after purchasing an additional 214,910 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $375,000. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 3,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF stock traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $70.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,353,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,841,807. The stock has a market cap of $26.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.79. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.55 and a 52-week high of $71.88.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

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

Synchrony Financial 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.