Holocene Advisors LP Acquires New Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $552,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at $2,192,000. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 46.0% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 17,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 5,589 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 56.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 20,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 7,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 15,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on SYF shares. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned 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 an average target price of $58.68.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.5 %

SYF traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.92. 3,423,147 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,582,129. The firm's fifty day moving average is $59.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.37. The company has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.63. 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 $34.42 and a 1-year high of $69.00.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the company'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 owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $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 owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial 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.