Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stock Holdings Increased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 37.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 427,757 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 117,093 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Synchrony Financial worth $22,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,787,000 after buying an additional 12,492 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.9% during the first quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,485,000 after acquiring an additional 13,526 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 70.2% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 25,622 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 6,120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $2,441,184.73. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $61.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,627,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,914,998. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.70. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.55 and a fifty-two week high of $70.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.44.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. 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 is currently 16.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Cfra Research raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target 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, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.78.

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.