KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 151,310 Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 151,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,835,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $358,105,000 after acquiring an additional 380,870 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised 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 worth $221,830,000 after purchasing an additional 157,948 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $200,756,000 after purchasing an additional 481,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $126,348,000 after buying an additional 279,517 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of SYF opened at $55.83 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $21.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.41.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.