Sentry Investment Management LLC Purchases 1,905 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Sentry Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 3,023.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,905 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $93,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total transaction of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Baird R W upgraded Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $47.13 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a PE ratio of 6.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.62. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $27.30 and a 12-month high of $52.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

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.