Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $215.34 Million Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 14.3% in Q2, now holding 3,226,563 shares worth $215.34 million. Other institutional investors like Vanguard, Invesco, and Ameriprise also adjusted their positions. Insiders sold 55,075 shares worth $4.04 million recently. Analysts have mixed ratings on SYF, with a consensus 'Moderate Buy' and an average price target of $81.38.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership decreased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,226,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 538,173 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned 0.87% of Synchrony Financial worth $215,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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3 Key Stocks Boosting Buybacks Amid Improving Fundamentals

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SYF. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,420,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,563,358,000 after purchasing an additional 281,383 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,858,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $310,145,000 after purchasing an additional 706,212 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 25.0% during the first quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,900,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $259,421,000 after buying an additional 1,297,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the second quarter worth $299,360,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $894,605.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 108,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,014,219.42. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,252,880. This trade represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

3 Stocks Just Announced Intentions to Buyback Near 10% of Shares

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.38.

View Our Latest Stock Report on SYF

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.0%

These 3 Stocks Have Huge Last 12 Months Shareholder Yields

NYSE:SYF opened at $78.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company's 50 day moving average price is $73.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.14. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $79.18.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.10%.

About Synchrony Financial

(Free Report)

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.

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