Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Takes $1.22 Million Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 24,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,215,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548,180 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 402.8% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 1,217,872 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,917,000 after purchasing an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 400.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 674,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1,043.9% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 655,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,916,000 after purchasing an additional 597,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $67.25 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $29.15 and a 12 month high of $67.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.57 and a 200 day moving average of $50.08. The firm has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given 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 is 13.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SYF shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $57.43.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.