State of Wyoming Buys 3,503 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 55.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,503 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $637,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 57.9% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 209,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,593,000 after buying an additional 76,723 shares during the period. Sachem Head Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $142,838,000. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $247,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 137,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,929,000 after buying an additional 3,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,342,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $60.88 on Monday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.41. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.55 and a 52-week high of $70.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. 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 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Compass Point lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Nine research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.95.

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.