Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 3,251 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,251 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $54.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $62.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.28. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $39.67 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The stock has a market cap of $21.02 billion, a PE ratio of 6.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.71%.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.