Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Bought by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 396.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,171 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This represents a 49.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This trade represents 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.98. The stock had a trading volume of 3,571,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,985,667. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.03. The stock 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. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $28.84 and a 12-month high of $67.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current 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 results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Synchrony Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued 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 payout ratio is 13.05%.

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.