Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Bought by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 91.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 221,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 105,823 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned approximately 0.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $10,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,962,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 58.1% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 280,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,646,000 after buying an additional 103,222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded down $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $44.30. The stock had a trading volume of 3,718,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,195,278. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $52.67. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $46.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $17.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.