Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Buys 157,948 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 157,948 shares during the quarter. Synchrony Financial accounts for about 0.9% of Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 1.14% of Synchrony Financial worth $221,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth about $2,192,000. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 10,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 41.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 73,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,475,000 after buying an additional 9,768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Compass Point upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.68.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $67.09 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $26.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.55. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $33.51 and a fifty-two week high of $68.69.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

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.