Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,251 shares during the quarter. 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.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 111.5% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $54.07 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.28. The company has a market capitalization of $21.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $39.67 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.10.

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.