Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Acquired by Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC

Key Points

• Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 19.4%, acquiring an additional 5,102 shares, bringing their total to 31,438 shares valued at approximately $1,664,000.
• Several institutional investors significantly boosted their positions in Synchrony Financial, with Price T Rowe Associates increasing their stake by 340.9% during the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have raised their price targets on Synchrony Financial, with Morgan Stanley setting a new target of $70.00 and JPMorgan Chase raising theirs to $80.00, reflecting strong interest in the stock.

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 19.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,102 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,165 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 294,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,165,000 after buying an additional 56,483 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $7,838,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $247,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 146,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 ninety 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 0.8%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $69.46. The stock had a trading volume of 3,603,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,607,768. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.49. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.54 and a 1 year high of $73.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.17.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.78. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.