Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 335,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 37,166 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.09% of Synchrony Financial worth $17,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 19,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,258,000 after buying an additional 1,817 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 161,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,484,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 21,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,378,000 after buying an additional 3,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,530,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $65.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business's fifty day moving average is $57.61 and its 200 day moving average is $59.52. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.55 and a fifty-two week high of $70.93.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 19.68% and a net margin of 13.00%. Sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 16.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target 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. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $44.00 price target (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.78.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 108,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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