Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Purchased by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 18.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,787,000 after acquiring an additional 12,492 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $423,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 25,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 6,120 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $1,121,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $57.63 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $21.94 billion, a PE ratio of 6.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.55 and a 1-year high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. On average, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 16.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.95.

About Synchrony Financial

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.