Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 10,703 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.4%, owning 437,345 shares valued at approximately $23.15 million after selling 10,703 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their holdings, including Northern Trust Corp, which raised its stake by 26.7%, owning 5.18 million shares now valued at $336.94 million.
• Synchrony Financial reported strong quarterly earnings of $2.50 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, though revenue for the quarter slightly declined by 1.8% year-over-year.

Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 437,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,703 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.11% of Synchrony Financial worth $23,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,963,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $650,678,000 after buying an additional 205,641 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 6.5% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,868,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $310,653,000 after acquiring an additional 358,708 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $336,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,922 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,576,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $297,496,000 after purchasing an additional 382,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,602,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $234,157,000 after purchasing an additional 471,958 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,024,030. This represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 3.2%

NYSE SYF traded down $2.24 on Friday, hitting $67.43. 5,021,678 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,300,371. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $73.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.20.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.56%.

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.