Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 2,193 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 23.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $547,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $182,739,000. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548,180 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 362.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,688,000 after buying an additional 1,552,946 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 402.8% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,739,000 after buying an additional 1,217,872 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after buying an additional 674,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE SYF opened at $47.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.62. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $27.30 and a twelve month high of $52.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.29 and its 200 day moving average is $45.04.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on SYF. Compass Point started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Baird R W upgraded Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% 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.