Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $34.55 Million Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 356.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 486,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 379,693 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $34,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Thistle LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 141.2% during the third quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 17,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 10,147 shares in the last quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth $267,000. Greenfield Savings Bank boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 44.5% during the third quarter. Greenfield Savings Bank now owns 6,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 2,004 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,834,000. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 148.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 9,101 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $894,605.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 108,271 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,219.42. The trade was a 10.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,402.17. The trade was a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF opened at $83.64 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $40.54 and a one year high of $86.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. Synchrony Financial’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.56.

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.