Hartford Investment Management Co. Decreases Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 725 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,000. Certuity LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 31,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,080,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,511,000. Finally, Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 target price on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Seven 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF stock opened at $64.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $24.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $38.78 and a 12-month high of $70.93. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.35.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 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.