Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 32,432 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 389,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,432 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.10% of Synchrony Financial worth $25,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 50,943 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,311,000 after acquiring an additional 11,302 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 602.5% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 5,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 4,621 shares in the last quarter. Crestline Management LP bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,746,000. Caption Management LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $84,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,668,000 after buying an additional 5,868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $44.00 price objective (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.95.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE SYF opened at $55.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.17 billion, a PE ratio of 6.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.55 and a 12 month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.