Erste Asset Management GmbH Makes New Investment in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 109,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,460,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 83.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. Compass Point boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $67.09 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.55. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $33.51 and a fifty-two week high of $68.69. The stock has a market cap of $26.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

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.