Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Round Hill Asset Management

Round Hill Asset Management cut its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 489 shares during the quarter. Synchrony Financial comprises about 3.1% of Round Hill Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Round Hill Asset Management’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 19.7% during the 4th 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 grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock opened at $43.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.71. The company has a market capitalization of $17.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $39.67 and a 52-week high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 11.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.26.

Synchrony Financial 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.