Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 116,458 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,384,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 116,458 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of Synchrony Financial worth $91,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at $100,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wolfe Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock opened at $45.60 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $42.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.28. The firm has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $26.59 and a 12 month high of $45.91.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

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

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.