Synchrony Financial $SYF Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,917,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,281 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $207,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $299,360,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $907,356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,494,741 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 149.4% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,803,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $127,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080,389 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,429,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 42.8% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,159,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,882,000 after purchasing an additional 946,278 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. HSBC upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.47.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $221,245.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,425.92. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 108,271 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,219.42. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of SYF opened at $80.25 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.40. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.54 and a 12-month high of $88.77. 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 market cap of $28.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.43.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.