163,878 Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Acquired by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 163,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,174,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $3,465,000. PGGM Investments raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 91.4% during the 1st quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 156,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,740,000 after acquiring an additional 74,637 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $2,192,000. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 13.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the first 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. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. BTIG Research lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $67.22 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $29.65 and a 1 year high of $67.76. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’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 value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. 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.