State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 2,700 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $7,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 389.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,797,000 after buying an additional 906,172 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,088,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $200,756,000 after buying an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,130,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,378,000 after buying an additional 469,772 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

SYF stock opened at $55.81 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $39.67 and a 52 week high of $70.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $65.39 and a 200 day moving average of $59.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.70 billion, a PE ratio of 6.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 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.