Quarry LP Boosts Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 301.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the quarter. Quarry LP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $45,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,694,000 after purchasing an additional 19,098 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after purchasing an additional 177,051 shares during the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $951,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 134.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 443,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,917,000 after purchasing an additional 36,865 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.53.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $66.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $35.12 and a 1 year high of $69.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.63.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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