Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Sells 28,585 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 581,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,585 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.15% of Synchrony Financial worth $37,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 111.5% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 151.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 807 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 810 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE SYF traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $51.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,361,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,942,227. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.55 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $52.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.29. The company has a market capitalization of $19.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.99, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.46%.

Synchrony Financial 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.