Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Bought by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 91.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 74,637 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 38,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,649,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.7% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 35,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 90,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,896,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 34,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 8.3% in the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SYF. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.50.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF traded down $3.57 on Friday, hitting $44.99. 6,431,068 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,372,373. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $46.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.24. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $52.67. The firm has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.