Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) Stake Reduced by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 184,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,914 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $12,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 1,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Seven equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $52.39 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $39.67 and a 1 year high of $70.93. The company has a market cap 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 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 price of $61.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.62.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. As a group, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date 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.