Schroder Investment Management Group Boosts Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 111.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 667,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 351,736 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.17% of Synchrony Financial worth $43,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $245,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 70,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,504,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 680.7% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 33,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,694,000 after acquiring an additional 29,611 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth about $5,460,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 123.6% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 11,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 6,190 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $53.22 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $39.67 and a 12-month high of $70.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.23, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.53 and a 200 day moving average of $60.71.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. 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 note on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.10.

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.