Man Group plc Sells 1,003,734 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Man Group plc cut its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 37.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,708,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,003,734 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned about 0.44% of Synchrony Financial worth $111,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $452,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,787,000 after buying an additional 12,492 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $423,000. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 25,622 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,665,000 after buying an additional 6,120 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.6%

Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $60.88. The stock had a trading volume of 4,101,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,936,690. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.55 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.80 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SYF. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.95.

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.