D.A. Davidson & CO. Lowers Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

D.A. Davidson & CO. trimmed its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,712 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after buying an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,830,000 after buying an additional 157,948 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,756,000 after buying an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,199,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,714,000 after buying an additional 37,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,061,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,852,000 after buying an additional 158,960 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $65.59 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.91. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $39.26 and a twelve month high of $70.93. The company has a market capitalization of $25.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.68, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.63. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.30.

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.