Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 639,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,438 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $42,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $452,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 119.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,123,000 after buying an additional 132,047 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 7.5% in the 4th 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 period. Brophy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $544,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $423,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $52.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $39.67 and a 1-year high of $70.93. The business has a 50-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 PE ratio of 6.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share 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 analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.