Sanctuary Advisors LLC Buys 18,142 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,142 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $9,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $65.20 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $39.26 and a twelve month high of $70.93. The company has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.72.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.30.

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.