Wellington Management Group LLP Increases Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,207 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 108,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,142,000 after purchasing an additional 33,867 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 699,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,716,000 after buying an additional 41,455 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 58.1% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 280,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,646,000 after acquiring an additional 103,222 shares during the period. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,592,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,384,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,048,000 after acquiring an additional 116,458 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on SYF shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.10.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $47.19 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.30. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $47.24. The company has a market capitalization of $18.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

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.