12,007 Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Acquired by Sowell Financial Services LLC

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 12,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $636,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,485,000 after buying an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 70.2% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 4,397 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 6,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,121,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded up $0.89 on Friday, hitting $62.34. 8,718,842 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,928,045. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $23.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.55, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.55 and a 52 week high of $70.93.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 16.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SYF. Cfra Research upgraded Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.78.

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.