Signet Financial Management LLC Purchases 1,670 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Signet Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,670 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 178,344 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $182,739,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,826,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,112,000 after acquiring an additional 730,318 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,707,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,336,000 after acquiring an additional 145,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,588,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,032,000 after acquiring an additional 165,369 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SYF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.10.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 121,042 shares in the company, valued at $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $44.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $27.30 and a 1-year high of $46.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.13.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.