Wolf Group Capital Advisors Makes New $1.18 Million Investment in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Wolf Group Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 22,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,963,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $650,678,000 after acquiring an additional 205,641 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,509,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,105,000 after acquiring an additional 380,870 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $347,903,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,576,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $297,496,000 after acquiring an additional 382,194 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.6%

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $60.29 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.55 and a 1-year high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $22.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $55.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.66.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 16.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Cfra Research upgraded Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.78.

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.