Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Bought by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,302 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SYF. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 487,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,327,000 after buying an additional 10,294 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 84,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,907 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased 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 worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $833,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $55.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.55 and a 12 month high of $70.93. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.39 and its 200-day moving average is $60.20.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.95.

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.