Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stake Raised by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 51.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 158,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 54,292 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $7,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $315,381,000 after buying an additional 313,128 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $274,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548,180 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $264,917,000 after purchasing an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.9% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,496,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $150,748,000 after buying an additional 97,235 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $147,599,000 after buying an additional 492,312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 49.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on SYF shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Compass Point raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.60.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.98. 3,571,774 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,985,667. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.03. 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 has a twelve month low of $28.84 and a twelve month high of $67.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. Synchrony Financial's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.