Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,776 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $11,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.4% during 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 grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 157,948 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew 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 purchasing an additional 481,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,943,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,348,000 after purchasing an additional 279,517 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $54.07 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $39.67 and a twelve month high of $70.93. The company has a market cap of $21.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.28. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.10.

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.