EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 464 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 464 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $347,903,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 700.5% during the 4th quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,107,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844,509 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $336,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,922 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $44,021,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $61.39 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $40.55 and a one year high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.19, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SYF. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective 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 decreased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $65.00 to $57.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Compass Point lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.95.

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.