Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,116,543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 56,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $72,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $452,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 119.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,123,000 after acquiring an additional 132,047 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,787,000 after acquiring an additional 12,492 shares during the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $544,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $423,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Compass Point cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $53.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.77 billion, a PE ratio of 6.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $39.67 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.71%.

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.