APG Asset Management N.V. Sells 594,550 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

APG Asset Management N.V. cut its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 73.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 594,550 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned 0.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $13,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 109,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,479,000 after purchasing an additional 20,410 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $237,000. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.5% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 27,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after acquiring an additional 2,396 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 215,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,744,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 14.1% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SYF. Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Compass Point cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.11.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 7.7 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $46.62 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $39.67 and a 12-month high of $70.93. 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 fifty day moving average of $56.59 and a 200-day moving average of $60.42. The company has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (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 research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio 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.