Soros Fund Management LLC Buys New Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 823,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $41,088,000. Soros Fund Management LLC owned about 0.21% of Synchrony Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Graypoint LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.5% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,465,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. This trade represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $72.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BTIG Research cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.68.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $66.92 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $34.26 and a 1 year high of $69.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.10. The stock has a market cap of $26.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

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.