TCTC Holdings LLC Makes New $27,000 Investment in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 25,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,674,000 after buying an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. First National Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 59,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,891,000 after buying an additional 4,283 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth $981,000. Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth $1,446,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 58.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,165,000 after buying an additional 6,584 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $53.48 on Tuesday. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $39.67 and a one year high of $70.93. 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 firm has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America lifted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.30.

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.