Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Buys 50,779 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 254,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 50,779 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.07% of Synchrony Financial worth $16,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,314,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $43.76 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.12, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $39.67 and a 52 week high of $70.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.71.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SYF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.26.

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.