Paloma Partners Management Co Buys 6,190 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 123.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,190 shares during the quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB increased 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 purchasing an additional 19,098 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,192,000. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 22.7% in the 3rd 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 during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 17.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 42,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $951,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.68.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $67.14 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $26.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.88. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $33.51 and a 12 month high of $69.00.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.