Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys 1,881 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,881 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,509,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,105,000 after acquiring an additional 380,870 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 157,948 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 481,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SYF. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Compass Point lowered 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $52.39 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $39.67 and a 52-week high of $70.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.17 and a 200-day moving average of $60.51. The company has a market capitalization of $20.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.13, 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 quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.