Convergence Investment Partners LLC Acquires 20,110 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 255.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,110 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 108,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,142,000 after acquiring an additional 33,867 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 58.1% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 280,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,646,000 after acquiring an additional 103,222 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,707,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,336,000 after acquiring an additional 145,466 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 46,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 15,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,054,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,812,000 after acquiring an additional 50,495 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 directly 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 ninety days, insiders sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.72.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.0 %

SYF stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $44.67. 3,698,809 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,315,406. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $26.59 and a 12 month high of $45.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.91. The company has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

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.