17,596 Shares in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Bought by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 17,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,144,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 30,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,500,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 84.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 1,691 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $276,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.4% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 8,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $61.35 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.18, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $39.35 and a one year 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $66.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.27.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.30.

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.