Bridgewater Associates LP Boosts Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 258.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 586,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 422,800 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.15% of Synchrony Financial worth $38,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.86. The company had a trading volume of 3,507,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,960,181. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.55 and a 1-year high of $70.93. The company has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $54.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.26.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Compass Point downgraded Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.11.

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.