Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Acquired by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,504 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,509,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,105,000 after buying an additional 380,870 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $347,903,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,830,000 after acquiring an additional 157,948 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,943,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,348,000 after purchasing an additional 279,517 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SYF. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Compass Point downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $52.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.62. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $39.67 and a 52-week high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business 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.