6,944 Synchrony Financial $SYF Shares Bought by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 67.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,944 shares during the quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SYF. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 11,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 45.3% in the third quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 39,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.6% during the third quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 11,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, October 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Evercore cut shares of Synchrony Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $90.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.83.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $75.36 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $63.08 and a 52 week high of $88.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.64. The company has a market cap of $23.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.26% and a net margin of 14.59%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.86 EPS. Research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 9.60 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 5th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 5th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.20%.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that provides private-label credit cards, co-branded credit cards and promotional financing programs. Its financing products are offered through retailers, manufacturers, healthcare providers and other businesses, helping consumers pay for purchases over time.

The company serves a range of industries, including digital commerce, home improvement, furniture, automotive, healthcare, jewelry, apparel, electronics and specialty retail.