Bridgewater Associates LP Purchases Shares of 163,878 Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 163,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,174,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 66.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548,180 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 402.8% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,872 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 14.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,726,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,917,000 after acquiring an additional 727,649 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 400.2% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 842,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,751,000 after acquiring an additional 674,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1,043.9% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 655,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,916,000 after purchasing an additional 597,900 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $67.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.31. The firm has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $29.65 and a 1-year high of $67.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SYF shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “underweight” 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 issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.