QRG Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 245,254 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,791 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $10,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SYF. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 97,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,993,000 after acquiring an additional 3,757 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 99.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,306,000 after purchasing an additional 478,676 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $877,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 12,498 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE SYF traded up $0.99 on Tuesday, reaching $51.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,831,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,260,162. The firm has a market cap of $20.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $45.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.20. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $27.30 and a 52 week high of $51.94. 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 (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion for 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 company posted $1.35 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.61.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 31,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 121,042 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,446,890. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company 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.