Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 389,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 32,432 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.10% of Synchrony Financial worth $25,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SYF. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $347,903,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 340.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,512,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $163,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942,573 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 700.5% during the 4th quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,107,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844,509 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 26.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,093,922 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $44,021,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded up $1.03 on Tuesday, hitting $61.39. 4,146,763 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,949,542. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.55 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $51.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.28. 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 (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. 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. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 16.46%.

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.