Vinva Investment Management Ltd Boosts Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 56.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 71,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,706 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $315,381,000 after buying an additional 313,128 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,892,000 after acquiring an additional 2,548,180 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,917,000 after acquiring an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,599,000 after acquiring an additional 492,312 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,790,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,668,000 after acquiring an additional 142,306 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SYF opened at $67.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $57.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $29.65 and a 1-year high of $67.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % 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 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.