Bank of Montreal Can Raises Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 597,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 157,763 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.15% of Synchrony Financial worth $29,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of SYF stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,435,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,957,656. The company has a market cap of $26.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $57.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.31. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $31.26 and a 52 week high of $68.69.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business's 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 owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.