Toronto Dominion Bank Buys 76,723 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 57.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 76,723 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank owned approximately 0.05% of Synchrony Financial worth $13,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $347,903,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $142,838,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 340.9% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,942,573 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 700.5% in the 4th quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,107,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,010,000 after buying an additional 1,844,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 169.0% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,356,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $153,196,000 after buying an additional 1,480,702 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was 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 now directly owns 146,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $57.63. 5,392,644 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,920,580. The stock has a market cap of $21.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $40.55 and a one year high of $70.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.15.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 16.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.95.

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.