Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Bought by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 28.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,121 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,200,000 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 the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,963,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $650,678,000 after purchasing an additional 205,641 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,509,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,105,000 after purchasing an additional 380,870 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $347,903,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $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 boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.1% during the 4th 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 worth $297,496,000 after acquiring an additional 382,194 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $44.00 target price (down from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Cfra Research raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction 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 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $61.27 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.65. The company has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.55 and a 52 week high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 16.46%.

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.