Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Acquires 103,200 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 314.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 136,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 103,200 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $8,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 47,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,056,000 after purchasing an additional 7,053 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $568,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 52,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,378,000 after buying an additional 6,872 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 111.5% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. This trade represents a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $62.00 price target on Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF traded down $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.28. The company had a trading volume of 3,430,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,664,221. The stock has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.21. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $38.25 and a one year high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.71%.

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.