Bank of Montreal Can Has $29.65 Million Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 35.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 597,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 157,763 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $29,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 4.0% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.3% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on SYF shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Compass Point upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $56.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $67.22 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $29.65 and a one 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. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.78, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.59.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 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.