California State Teachers Retirement System Increases Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 542,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,140 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.14% of Synchrony Financial worth $35,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 111.5% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 810 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of SYF stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.63. 5,392,644 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,920,580. The business's fifty day moving average is $52.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.15. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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. 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 report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 7th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.95.

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.