Invesco Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 13.7%, acquiring an additional 706,212 shares to own approximately 1.54% of the company, valued at $310 million.
• Synchrony Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 5th, representing a 1.7% dividend yield.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.50, exceeding analysts' expectations, but a 1.8% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 13.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,858,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 706,212 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.54% of Synchrony Financial worth $310,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SYF. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 294,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,165,000 after acquiring an additional 56,483 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 231,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,028,000 after acquiring an additional 30,790 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 39,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $679,000. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $252,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.4%

Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.65. The stock had a trading volume of 2,760,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,788,283. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $73.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 14.56%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 146,628 shares in the company, valued at $8,807,943.96. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 68,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,801,160. This represents a 11.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,133 shares of company stock worth $3,817,635 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

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.