Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Purchased by AlphaStar Capital Management LLC

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,497 shares during the quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 80,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,016,000 after purchasing an additional 3,992 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $244,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 20,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.3% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at $449,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE:SYF traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $63.98. The stock had a trading volume of 5,333,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,723,833. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.31. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $38.25 and a 1-year high of $70.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $24.91 billion, a PE ratio of 7.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SYF shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company 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.