Synchrony Financial $SYF Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 356.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 486,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 379,693 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.13% of Synchrony Financial worth $34,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.1% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 5.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 36.3% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.5%

SYF stock opened at $83.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.46. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $86.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.99.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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 given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 13.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $894,605.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 108,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,219.42. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.56.

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.