Voya Investment Management LLC Has $127.84 Million Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Voya Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 149.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,803,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,080,389 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.48% of Synchrony Financial worth $127,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth $26,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 5,787.5% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 337.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 20,366.7% during the 2nd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $84.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.46. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $86.22.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SYF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,014,219.42. The trade was a 10.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,252,880. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892 over the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.