Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 80,000 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 26.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 224,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 80,000 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $14,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,963,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $650,678,000 after purchasing an additional 205,641 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $347,903,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake 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 buying an additional 481,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,943,817 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $126,348,000 after buying an additional 279,517 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SYF. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays raised Synchrony Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.37.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $51.93. 4,406,464 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,950,065. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.55 and a 1-year high of $70.93. The company has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a PE ratio of 6.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $53.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.80 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's 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.