Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 639,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,438 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.16% of Synchrony Financial worth $42,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $52.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.51. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.67 and a 12 month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results 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 analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.