Blue Trust Inc. Trims Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,609 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 31.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 386,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,297,000 after acquiring an additional 92,196 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 14.5% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $61.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.18, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.35 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $66.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 11.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SYF. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI upped 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. 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 research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.30.

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.