Wright Investors Service Inc. Buys 31,840 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 167.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 50,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,840 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,694,000 after buying an additional 19,098 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,192,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,266,000 after purchasing an additional 674,366 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 98.6% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 11,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 490,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,134,000 after purchasing an additional 168,920 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF traded up $2.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.86. 2,636,892 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,592,896. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $48.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $52.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 14.35%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,987.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SYF. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.41.

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.