Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Position Reduced by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 53.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 274,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 312,768 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.07% of Synchrony Financial worth $14,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 116.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 5,952 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 7,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $10,530,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 114,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $69.31. 3,515,284 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,873,182. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.55 and a 52 week high of $70.93. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $60.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.58. The company has a market cap of $26.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 19.68%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 146,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 108,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cfra Research raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.89.

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.