Alethea Capital Management LLC Invests $574,000 in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Alethea Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $574,000. Synchrony Financial makes up about 0.4% of Alethea Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 34,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 12,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 148,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,670,000 after purchasing an additional 5,478 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,033,000 after purchasing an additional 23,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 55,621.4% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 15,574 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.41.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $49.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.51. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $27.30 and a twelve month high of $52.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 16.06%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were 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 owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.