B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Purchases New Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 53,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,690,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548,180 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $71,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,872 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,917,000 after purchasing an additional 727,649 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 400.2% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 842,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,751,000 after acquiring an additional 674,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1,043.9% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 655,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,916,000 after buying an additional 597,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. BTIG Research downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $65.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.36 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.59. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.58. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $29.15 and a 52 week high of $67.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. 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.