B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Acquires 1,398 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,686,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,381,000 after purchasing an additional 313,128 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $264,917,000 after buying an additional 727,649 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,830,000 after acquiring an additional 157,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,131,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,599,000 after acquiring an additional 492,312 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 5.4 %

SYF stock opened at $63.59 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $62.11 and its 200 day moving average is $52.67. The stock has a market cap of $24.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 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 has a 1-year low of $35.29 and a 1-year high of $69.39.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. This represents a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.53.

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.