International Assets Investment Management LLC Invests $1.96 Million in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 51,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,962,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 138.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 230.5% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,226 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 76.2% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of SYF traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.57. 4,493,280 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,879,535. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $26.59 and a 52-week high of $43.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.45. The firm has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Synchrony Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.44.

About Synchrony Financial

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.