Avanza Fonder AB Makes New $2.01 Million Investment in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 30,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,011,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:SYF traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.73. The stock had a trading volume of 2,326,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,599,523. The company has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.64. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $35.29 and a 1-year high of $69.39. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $66.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 127,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued 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 Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Synchrony Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.45.

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.