Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Position Reduced by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP reduced its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 305,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 65,500 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.08% of Synchrony Financial worth $15,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $229,448,000 after buying an additional 1,265,000 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 402.8% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $71,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,872 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,088,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,917,000 after purchasing an additional 727,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 400.2% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 842,539 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,751,000 after purchasing an additional 674,093 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.68.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

SYF stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $67.95. 4,859,767 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,940,362. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business's 50 day moving average price is $59.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.55. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $35.12 and a 52-week high of $69.39.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The company's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

About Synchrony Financial

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.