Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 15,600 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 15.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,600 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 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 valued at $358,105,000 after buying an additional 380,870 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after buying an additional 1,265,000 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 4,447,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,830,000 after buying an additional 157,948 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake 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 buying an additional 481,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,199,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,714,000 after buying an additional 37,484 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $59.39 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $23.09 billion, a PE ratio of 6.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.67 and a 12 month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Compass Point cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.30.

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.