Vontobel Holding Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 107.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,992 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $748,000 after buying an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Invst LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 40,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 8,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SYF shares. 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 note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Cfra Research raised Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,265,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,875,644. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.55 and a 1-year high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm's 50-day moving average is $59.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.54. The company has a market cap of $26.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 19.68%. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. 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 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.