Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 105,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,125 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,963,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $650,678,000 after acquiring an additional 205,641 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,509,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,105,000 after purchasing an additional 380,870 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $347,903,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,922 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,602,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,157,000 after purchasing an additional 471,958 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $60.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.55 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $52.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.41. The company has a market cap of $23.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 1.97%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 16.46%.

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.