National Pension Service Reduces Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

National Pension Service reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 885,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 72,483 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $57,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 389.8% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,797,000 after acquiring an additional 906,172 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 71.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,130,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,378,000 after acquiring an additional 469,772 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $59.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a PE ratio of 6.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.47. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $39.67 and a 52 week high of $70.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 11.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial 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.