Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $25.30 Million Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 389,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,432 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $25,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.9% in the fourth 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. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew 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 valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $55.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.20. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.55 and a 12-month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $44.00 price target (down from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.