Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 30,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,500,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 125.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $802,000 after buying an additional 8,952 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 39,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,994,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $273,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 84.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $65.19 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.93 and a 200 day moving average of $58.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.63, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $39.26 and a 52 week high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.71%.

About Synchrony Financial

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.