Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $14.75 Million Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 226,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,525 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $14,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 128.2% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 12,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 7,196 shares in the last quarter. City National Bank of Florida MSD bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth $705,000. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth $872,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $84,000. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $211,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,628 shares in the company, valued at $8,807,943.96. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on SYF shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Cfra Research raised Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of SYF stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $58.26. 2,002,798 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,417,307. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $52.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.29. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $70.93.

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, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 16.46%.

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.