Legal & General Group Plc Sells 831,012 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,088,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 831,012 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.79% of Synchrony Financial worth $200,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $452,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 119.0% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,123,000 after purchasing an additional 132,047 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,787,000 after buying an additional 12,492 shares during the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at about $544,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $423,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $50.53 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $39.67 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.64 billion, a PE ratio of 5.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $57.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.43.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on SYF. UBS Group increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Compass Point cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.11.

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.