Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,071,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 41,115,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,195,640,000 after purchasing an additional 361,844 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,123,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,786,000 after buying an additional 484,220 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,791,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,483,000 after buying an additional 879,797 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,187,000 after buying an additional 755,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,973,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $152,040,000 after buying an additional 178,344 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $41.57 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.45. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $26.59 and a 52 week high of $43.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

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.