Convergence Investment Partners LLC Grows Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 255.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,110 shares during the period. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 126.9% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 60,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 33,631 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $131,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 501,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,169,000 after acquiring an additional 46,036 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $742,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 150,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,732,000 after acquiring an additional 9,163 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $44.67. 3,698,809 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,315,406. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $26.59 and a 1-year high of $45.46. The firm has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $41.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership 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.