Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth $39,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on SYF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,987.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

SYF opened at $55.26 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $27.42 and a 1-year high of $57.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.19 billion, a PE ratio of 7.93, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $50.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.94.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly 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 business 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

About Synchrony Financial

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.