Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 301.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $50,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 151.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.6% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on SYF. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.05.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $68.76 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $66.93 and its 200 day moving average is $57.14. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $37.91 and a 1-year high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $26.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.98, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. 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.