iSAM Funds UK Ltd Has $559,000 Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 604 shares during the quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 205,641 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 380,870 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $347,903,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,093,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,602,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,157,000 after buying an additional 471,958 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE SYF opened at $60.03 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.45. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $40.55 and a one year high of $70.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 146,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Compass Point downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.95.

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.