AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 727,649 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 14.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 727,649 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.45% of Synchrony Financial worth $264,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 428,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,234,000 after buying an additional 33,334 shares in the last quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $951,000. Caxton Associates LP raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 92,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,351,000 after buying an additional 8,521 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at about $10,972,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 77,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,677,000 after buying an additional 28,343 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.0 %

SYF opened at $48.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $27.30 and a one year high of $52.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.92, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.47.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. JMP Securities raised their price target 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, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

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