Centaurus Financial Inc. Buys New Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at $39,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of SYF traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.68. 974,130 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,960,918. The company's 50 day moving average is $56.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.08. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $29.65 and a 52 week high of $67.76. The company has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a P/E 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 (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.