Certuity LLC Purchases 938 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Certuity LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,773,000 after purchasing an additional 177,051 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $452,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 119.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,123,000 after buying an additional 132,047 shares during the period. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth about $544,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 487,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,327,000 after acquiring an additional 10,294 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $65.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a PE ratio of 7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.21. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $38.25 and a 12 month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised 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. Compass Point downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.