DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Raises Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,671 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.07% of Synchrony Financial worth $14,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $347,903,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,838,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 340.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,512,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $163,303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942,573 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 700.5% in the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,107,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,844,509 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 169.0% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,356,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $153,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480,702 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of SYF traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,911,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,881,675. The stock has a market cap 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 company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.55 and a 52 week high of $71.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $61.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. The firm 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%. On average, analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 146,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,024,030. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI cut 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 report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.00.

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.