Capital World Investors Sells 617,997 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Capital World Investors lowered its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,509,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 617,997 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned about 10.92% of Synchrony Financial worth $2,763,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 17,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 1,427 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 258.0% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 586,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,134,000 after acquiring an additional 422,800 shares in the last quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,986,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $658,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Compass Point lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.11.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 2.4 %

SYF opened at $47.86 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.26. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.55 and a 52 week high of $70.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

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.