Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Increases Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,130,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 469,772 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $56,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 83.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the second quarter valued at $39,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SYF. Bank of America upgraded 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price objective on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

SYF stock opened at $67.52 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.51. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $31.26 and a 12 month high of $68.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the 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 approximately $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 insiders.

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.