Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,083 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after buying an additional 1,265,000 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 389.8% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,797,000 after acquiring an additional 906,172 shares during the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,088,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,756,000 after purchasing an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,130,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,378,000 after purchasing an additional 469,772 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.1 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $55.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.47. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $39.67 and a twelve month high of $70.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.54, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share 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, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on SYF. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.10.

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.