Savant Capital LLC Buys 1,412 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,412 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,830,000 after buying an additional 157,948 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,756,000 after buying an additional 481,750 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,199,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,714,000 after acquiring an additional 37,484 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,061,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,852,000 after acquiring an additional 158,960 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $65.28 on Wednesday. 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 50-day moving average of $67.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.21. The company has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a PE ratio of 7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SYF. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

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.