Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lessened its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 86.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 69,023 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $679,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 389.8% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,797,000 after purchasing an additional 906,172 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at about $41,088,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,756,000 after purchasing an additional 481,750 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 71.1% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 469,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $53.42 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $39.67 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.21. The company has a market cap of $20.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.25, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SYF. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.