Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 9,101 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 148.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,101 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth about $299,360,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $907,356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,494,741 shares during the period. Khrom Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $73,699,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,900,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $264,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SYF. Baird R W cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.00.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF opened at $83.43 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $86.22. The company has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,402.17. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $221,245.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,425.92. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892 in the last ninety days. Company 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.