Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Buys 895 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 99,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,694,000 after acquiring an additional 19,098 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $2,192,000. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 957,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,773,000 after purchasing an additional 177,051 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 17.2% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 287,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,569,000 after buying an additional 42,293 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $951,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $67.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.31. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $29.65 and a 1 year high of $67.76. The firm has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.