Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Shares Sold by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA lessened its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,510 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $347,903,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 389.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,756,000 after purchasing an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 231.3% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 559,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,368,000 after purchasing an additional 390,602 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,509,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,105,000 after purchasing an additional 380,870 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 6.0 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $43.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $17.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $59.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.62. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $39.67 and a 52 week high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.26.

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.