First National Advisers LLC Acquires 4,283 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

First National Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,283 shares during the quarter. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SYF. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 396.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 18,171 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 67,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,380,000 after purchasing an additional 3,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 158,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,927,000 after purchasing an additional 54,292 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SYF. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $53.42 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.14. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $39.67 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The company has a market capitalization of $20.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend 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.