Swedbank AB Has $4.98 Million Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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 $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 currently owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $67.22 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.20. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $29.65 and a twelve month high of $67.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 (DPR) is 13.05%.

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.