Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $69.67 and last traded at $69.47, with a volume of 150662 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.75.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on SYF. Compass Point boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.45.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $27.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.49.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Synchrony Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SYF. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 112.2% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 227,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,743,000 after buying an additional 120,373 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $444,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 77,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,677,000 after purchasing an additional 28,343 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,972,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.