Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 313,128 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 313,128 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.69% of Synchrony Financial worth $315,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth about $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.41.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $49.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.62. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $27.30 and a 1 year high of $52.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

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.