Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. trimmed its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 626 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 389.8% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,797,000 after purchasing an additional 906,172 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth $41,088,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,756,000 after purchasing an additional 481,750 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 71.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,130,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,378,000 after purchasing an additional 469,772 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Six 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $54.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.67 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The stock has a market cap of $21.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.28.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.