Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Purchased by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 128.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,196 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SYF. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded down $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $58.26. 2,002,798 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,417,307. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a PE ratio of 6.82, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $52.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.29. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $70.93.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 16.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 146,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.