PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Acquires 10,242 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 58,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,242 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 34,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC now owns 42,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SYF. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,446,890. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $44.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $27.30 and a 52 week high of $46.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $43.53 and a 200-day moving average of $40.79.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. The business had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign 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.