Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 487,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,294 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $24,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 26.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.1% during the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 135,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 7,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 116.9% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 388,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,353,000 after purchasing an additional 209,613 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.63.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE SYF opened at $66.62 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $35.29 and a one year high of $69.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.37. The firm has a market cap of $25.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Synchrony Financial Profile

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.