Martingale Asset Management L P Raises Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 50,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,870 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,314,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $50.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $39.67 and a 52 week high of $70.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.43.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. 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 report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.11.

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.