Wedmont Private Capital Buys 192 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 192 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SYF. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.45.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, 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 currently owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 3.1 %

SYF stock opened at $68.12 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $35.29 and a 52 week high of $69.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.66. 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 cap of $26.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.