Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 68,438 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 639,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 68,438 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Synchrony Financial worth $42,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during 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. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its stake in 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 during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,088,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake 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 worth $56,378,000 after acquiring an additional 469,772 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Compass Point downgraded Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.35.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 14.9 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded down $8.18 on Thursday, reaching $46.87. The company had a trading volume of 2,623,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,177,144. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $60.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.67. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $39.67 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The firm has a market cap of $18.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share 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%. As a group, 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 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.