Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Purchased by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,525 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $14,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $347,903,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $142,838,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 340.9% in the fourth 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 boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 700.5% in the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,107,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,010,000 after buying an additional 1,844,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 169.0% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,356,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,196,000 after buying an additional 1,480,702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total transaction of $2,441,184.73. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 146,628 shares in the company, valued at $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $56.75 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.55 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.36.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.80 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (down previously from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.