Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 507,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 50,385 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Synchrony Financial worth $26,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,963,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $650,678,000 after purchasing an additional 205,641 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth $347,903,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $336,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,922 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 9.1% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 382,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,602,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $234,157,000 after acquiring an additional 471,958 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.56. 2,911,576 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,869,731. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.46. The business's 50-day moving average price is $61.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.69. 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 announced 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 analysts' expectations of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 19.68%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 16.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the company'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 transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SYF. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.00.

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.