Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Decreases Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership reduced its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 33.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,392,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,693,343 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $350,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE SYF opened at $52.39 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $61.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.51. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.67 and a 12 month high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $20.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Compass Point lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.10.

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.