AdvisorShares Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 7,200 Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 7,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 205,641 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 380,870 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth $347,903,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $336,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093,922 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $200,756,000 after acquiring an additional 481,750 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SYF. Compass Point lowered Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded up $1.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $54.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,263,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,944,899. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $40.55 and a one year high of $70.93. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $51.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $20.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 2.21%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.46%.

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.