United Asset Strategies Inc. Raises Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 137,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,288 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 42,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 16.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 17,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 2,387 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 5.4% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 10,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the period. FCG Investment Co bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,053,000. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 9,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SYF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BTIG Research cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.35. 650,255 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,918,151. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $27.68 and a one year high of $57.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.44.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. Synchrony Financial’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.35%.

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.