LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Purchases Shares of 4,458 Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SYF. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 380,870 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 157,948 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake 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 worth $200,756,000 after buying an additional 481,750 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,199,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,714,000 after buying an additional 37,484 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SYF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of SYF opened at $57.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.85. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $39.67 and a 12-month high of $70.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.63.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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 $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.