Erste Asset Management GmbH Purchases New Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 109,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,460,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SYF. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,694,000 after purchasing an additional 19,098 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,192,000. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,773,000 after buying an additional 177,051 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 287,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,569,000 after acquiring an additional 42,293 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $951,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, 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 transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $67.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $26.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $33.51 and a twelve month high of $68.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio 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.