Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Position Boosted by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,575 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,381,000 after acquiring an additional 313,128 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $264,917,000 after purchasing an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,830,000 after purchasing an additional 157,948 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $147,599,000 after buying an additional 492,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value 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 approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen boosted their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $66.78 on Monday. 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 market capitalization of $26.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $35.29 and a 1-year high of $69.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.