Unigestion Holding SA Purchases 14,946 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Unigestion Holding SA lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 82.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,175 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,946 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $71,000. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 70.2% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 5.8% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 89,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,871 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 930,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,253,000 after acquiring an additional 61,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,485,000 after acquiring an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF traded up $1.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 758,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,892,371. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $53.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.00. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.55 and a 12 month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend yield of 2.03%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 16.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.95.

About Synchrony Financial

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.