Todd Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 665,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,625 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Synchrony Financial worth $25,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 158.9% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,095,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900,216 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,187,000 after acquiring an additional 755,856 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.0% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 99.7% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,732,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.60. 3,485,300 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,323,139. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $26.59 and a fifty-two week high of $45.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.58.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted 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 company had revenue of $5.57 billion for 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 previous year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.25 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 is available at the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following 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. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.74.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.