Mackenzie Financial Corp Boosts Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 715,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 88,026 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.17% of Synchrony Financial worth $27,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 138.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 230.5% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,226 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 76.2% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on SYF shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.44.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

NYSE:SYF traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $40.80. 4,167,333 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,407,639. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $26.59 and a twelve month high of $43.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $41.12 and a 200 day moving average of $36.24. The stock has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a PE ratio of 7.84, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106 in the last quarter. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.