Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stake Increased by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 715,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 88,026 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.17% of Synchrony Financial worth $27,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $955,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 13,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 5,432 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 149.8% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 12,798 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 90,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,440,000 after purchasing an additional 5,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $1,962,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SYF. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $39.68 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $26.59 and a twelve month high of $43.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $16.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.10. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.31%.

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.