AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Has $144.89 Million Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,736,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 330,974 shares during the quarter. Synchrony Financial accounts for 0.8% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.72% of Synchrony Financial worth $144,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 30.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 73,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 17,061 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth $11,506,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 25.9% in the first quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,485,000 after purchasing an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 70.2% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter valued at $242,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SYF. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Cfra Research raised Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.22.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.09. 3,230,906 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,837,205. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $40.55 and a one year high of $71.88. The company has a market capitalization of $26.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $63.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.82. 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 (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 19.68%. Sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 16.46%.

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.