Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 402.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,739,000 after buying an additional 1,217,872 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 727,649 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 400.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 842,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,751,000 after purchasing an additional 674,093 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1,043.9% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 655,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,916,000 after purchasing an additional 597,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 589.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 550,750 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. 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 note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $67.14 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $33.51 and a 52 week high of $69.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $58.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.88. The company has a market cap of $26.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid 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 dividend yield of 1.49%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.