State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $2.89 Million Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 44.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,617 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 389.8% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,797,000 after buying an additional 906,172 shares during the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $41,088,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 589.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 644,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,133,000 after buying an additional 550,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,756,000 after acquiring an additional 481,750 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SYF shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Compass Point lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $67.51 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $26.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $67.17 and its 200-day moving average is $58.05. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $38.17 and a 12-month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.