New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 12,300 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 218,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 12,300 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $14,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after buying an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 389.8% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,797,000 after acquiring an additional 906,172 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,088,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $200,756,000 after acquiring an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,130,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,378,000 after acquiring an additional 469,772 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $61.35 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $66.56 and a 200-day moving average of $59.27. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.35 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.30.

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.