New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 461,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 26,840 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.11% of Synchrony Financial worth $23,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $997,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.3% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 52,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,465,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SYF. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.60.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of SYF traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $55.25. 2,684,232 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,274,818. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $28.24 and a 12 month high of $57.37. The company has a market capitalization of $21.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.59. The company's fifty day moving average price is $51.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.48 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 13.05%.

Synchrony Financial 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.