Cerity Partners LLC Buys 37,101 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 37,101 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth about $334,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 19,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 203,988 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,175,000 after acquiring an additional 9,671 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.4% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 385,450 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,226,000 after acquiring an additional 78,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.0% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 521,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,991,000 after acquiring an additional 132,143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $67.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,692,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,968,624. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $29.65 and a 1-year high of $67.76. The stock has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.20. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 13.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.43.

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.