Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $5.60 Million Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 111.5% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.50 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Seven research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $59.39 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.47. The firm has a market cap of $23.09 billion, a PE ratio of 6.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $39.67 and a 1 year 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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, research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.