Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Has $4.14 Million Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 45.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,867 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,251 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 30.3% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,337 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 7,753 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 69,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.3% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 101,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,520,000 after acquiring an additional 2,310 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.9% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 962,162 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,493,000 after acquiring an additional 8,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $552,995.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106 over the last three months. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SYF. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.44.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.3 %

SYF stock traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.93. 4,029,231 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,412,885. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $26.59 and a 52-week high of $43.83. The company has a market cap of $16.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.61. The stock's fifty day moving average is $41.10 and its 200-day moving average is $36.22.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.31%.

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.