Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,113 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SYF. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 158.9% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,095,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900,216 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,187,000 after purchasing an additional 755,856 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,907,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,871,000 after purchasing an additional 720,587 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 99.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,306,000 after purchasing an additional 478,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $11,732,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.44.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total transaction of $283,964.17. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106 over the last ninety days. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $42.88 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $26.59 and a 52-week high of $43.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.64. The firm has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.10. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 10.68% and a return on equity of 17.37%. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.