Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Grows Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 314.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 103,200 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $8,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 47,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,056,000 after acquiring an additional 7,053 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $568,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 52,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after acquiring an additional 6,872 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 111.5% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This represents a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of several research reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $68.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.98, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $38.03 and a 52-week high of $70.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $67.15 and its 200 day moving average is $57.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

About Synchrony Financial

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.