Hancock Whitney Corp Sells 7,350 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Hancock Whitney Corp lessened its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,350 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SYF. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,963,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $650,678,000 after buying an additional 205,641 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,509,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $358,105,000 after acquiring an additional 380,870 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $347,903,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $200,756,000 after purchasing an additional 481,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 340.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,512,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $163,303,000 after buying an additional 1,942,573 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $57.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE SYF traded down $1.33 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $51.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,456,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,942,848. The business's 50-day moving average is $52.26 and its 200 day moving average is $60.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $19.87 billion, a PE ratio of 5.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.55 and a 12-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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

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

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.