Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,256,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,552 shares during the quarter. Synchrony Financial accounts for 0.7% of O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Synchrony Financial worth $81,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 111.5% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 151.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $52.39 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $61.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.51. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $39.67 and a 1-year high of $70.93. The firm has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.71%.

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.