Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 15.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 194,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,435 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 217.7% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,078,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,304,000 after buying an additional 1,424,545 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.2% in the first quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,245,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $214,209,000 after buying an additional 363,874 shares during the period. BB&T Corp raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 97.8% in the first quarter. BB&T Corp now owns 30,211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,036,000 after buying an additional 14,939 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.2% in the first quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 25,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $887,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Company LTD raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.6% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Company LTD now owns 67,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,318,000 after buying an additional 5,909 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.63% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) opened at 30.54 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $26.01 and a 52 week high of $38.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $30.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.35.
Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.59 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 13.84%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post $2.60 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 3rd. This is a positive change from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.64%.
Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.64 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $35.00 target price (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Saturday, July 22nd. BidaskClub upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.55.
In related news, Director Paget Leonard Alves acquired 2,000 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.85 per share, with a total value of $61,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,872.85. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
About Synchrony Financial
Synchrony Financial is a consumer financial services company. The Company provides a range of credit products through programs it has established with a group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers. The Company’s revenue activities are managed through three sales platforms: Retail Card, Payment Solutions and CareCredit.
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