12,816 Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Bought by Friedenthal Financial

Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $833,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth $39,000. Quarry LP increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 301.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth $50,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.7 %

SYF traded up $1.11 during trading on Monday, hitting $64.88. 2,712,728 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,598,404. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.52. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $35.29 and a 1 year high of $69.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $25.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on SYF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Synchrony Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.45.

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.