Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Decreases Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 389 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 111.5% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SYF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $59.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a PE ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $39.67 and a fifty-two week high of $70.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.47. 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 (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.