Todd Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 665,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 44,625 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Synchrony Financial worth $25,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SYF. Boston Partners boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 158.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,095,762 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,609,000 after buying an additional 1,900,216 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 16.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $167,187,000 after purchasing an additional 755,856 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.0% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,907,126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,871,000 after acquiring an additional 720,587 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 99.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,306,000 after acquiring an additional 478,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth about $11,732,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $45.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,485,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,323,139. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.49. The company has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a PE ratio of 6.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.58. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $26.59 and a 52 week high of $45.91.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 152,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $62.00 in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.74.

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.