Meeder Asset Management Inc. Has $5.85 Million Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 68.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,588 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $860,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 111.5% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 667,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,366,000 after purchasing an additional 351,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $752,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE SYF opened at $52.39 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $39.67 and a 12 month high of $70.93. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.17 and a 200-day moving average of $60.62. The company has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a PE ratio of 6.13, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on SYF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Compass Point cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.