Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 589.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 644,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 550,750 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $32,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.3% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 31,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. Compass Point boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.25.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF stock opened at $55.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $27.65 and a twelve month high of $57.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $50.19 and its 200-day moving average is $47.00. The company has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.19 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the 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 $2,510,987.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.