Sound Income Strategies LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Get Rating) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,234 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $992,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SYF. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 30.3% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 7,753 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 69,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 101,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 962,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,493,000 after purchasing an additional 8,110 shares during the last quarter. 95.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Alberto Casellas sold 39,460 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $1,426,084.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,531,245.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 11,071 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.25, for a total transaction of $401,323.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 71,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,597,820. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Alberto Casellas sold 39,460 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $1,426,084.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 70,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,531,245.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.49. 11,365,258 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,999,842. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $27.22 and a twelve month high of $41.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.86.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.14. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 24.07% and a net margin of 17.51%. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. Bank of America downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 13th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price target on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Synchrony Financial from $39.00 to $36.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.13.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

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Synchrony Financial engages in the provision of consumer financial services. The firm is also involved in managing credit products through the following sales platforms: Home and Auto, Digital, Diversified and Value, Health and Wellness, and Lifestyle. The company was founded on September 12, 2003 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT.