Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Purchases 23,669 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 132.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 23,669 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 111.5% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 810 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.37.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF traded up $2.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $51.93. 4,406,464 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,950,065. The company has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.55 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.80 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 11.71%.

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.