Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Purchased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 149.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,798 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,187,000 after acquiring an additional 755,856 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,973,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $152,040,000 after purchasing an additional 178,344 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,707,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,336,000 after purchasing an additional 145,466 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,422,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,635,000 after purchasing an additional 16,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 3,282,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $125,340,000 after buying an additional 371,304 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,995.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,106. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SYF. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.44.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.4 %

SYF stock opened at $42.15 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $26.59 and a 52-week high of $43.83. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.55. The firm has a market cap of $17.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.45 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 10.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.31%.

Synchrony Financial 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.