Synchrony Financial $SYF Stock Sold by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al reduced its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 19.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 242,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,100 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $17,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,349,452,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,122,961,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,039,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $410,760,000 after acquiring an additional 365,353 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,338,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,098,000 after acquiring an additional 281,451 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,338,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,112,000 after acquiring an additional 37,114 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 2.1%

SYF stock opened at $75.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.64. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $63.08 and a 1-year high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 22.26%. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.86 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.60 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SYF. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.83.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that provides private-label credit cards, co-branded credit cards and promotional financing programs. Its financing products are offered through retailers, manufacturers, healthcare providers and other businesses, helping consumers pay for purchases over time.

The company serves a range of industries, including digital commerce, home improvement, furniture, automotive, healthcare, jewelry, apparel, electronics and specialty retail.