658 Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Purchased by Altshuler Shaham Ltd

Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 58,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 10,242 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 34,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,329,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,800,000 after buying an additional 15,936 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Compass Point initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.41.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $50.58 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.38 and its 200 day moving average is $45.37. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $27.30 and a 1-year high of $52.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.26, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.62.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial 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.