Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 213 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised 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 valued at $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 389.8% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,797,000 after buying an additional 906,172 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,088,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 589.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 644,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,133,000 after acquiring an additional 550,750 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $68.12 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.66. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $35.29 and a 1-year high of $69.39. The firm has a market cap of $26.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on SYF. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.45.

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.