Swedbank AB Acquires 312 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 99,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548,180 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 402.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,739,000 after buying an additional 1,217,872 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,917,000 after buying an additional 727,649 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 400.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 842,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,751,000 after buying an additional 674,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1,043.9% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 655,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,916,000 after acquiring an additional 597,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $67.22 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $29.65 and a 1-year high of $67.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % 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.

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.