National Pension Service Purchases 22,807 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the first quarter, owning about 0.24% of the company, worth approximately $48 million.
• Insiders sold a total of 61,133 shares of Synchrony Financial stock valued at nearly $3.82 million over the past ninety days, indicating a decrease in their ownership.
• Recent analyst upgrades have raised the average target price for Synchrony Financial shares to $74.05, with 8 analysts rating it as hold and 13 as buy.

National Pension Service raised its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 908,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 22,807 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.24% of Synchrony Financial worth $48,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 11,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $748,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Invst LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 20,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,336,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 103,038 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,697,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 2,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,024,030. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,133 shares of company stock worth $3,817,635. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE:SYF traded down $1.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.48. 2,841,657 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,812,948. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $73.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.67, a PEG ratio of 0.73 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. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 14.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BTIG Research raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.05.

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.