Boston Partners Raises Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,826,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 730,318 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned approximately 0.92% of Synchrony Financial worth $146,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 45.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 108,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,142,000 after acquiring an additional 33,867 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 58.1% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 280,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,646,000 after acquiring an additional 103,222 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,384,091 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,048,000 after acquiring an additional 116,458 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 255.2% in the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 27,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 20,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,588,159 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,032,000 after acquiring an additional 165,369 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.74.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at $5,446,890. The sale 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,437 shares of company stock worth $7,242,432 over the last 90 days. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SYF traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.18. 3,683,508 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,430,280. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $27.23 and a 12-month high of $46.72. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.23. The firm has a market cap of $18.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.58.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial 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.