Forsta AP Fonden Has $8.57 Million Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 181,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 45,800 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $8,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $182,739,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 66.6% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,374,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,892,000 after buying an additional 2,548,180 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 362.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,981,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,688,000 after buying an additional 1,552,946 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 402.8% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,739,000 after buying an additional 1,217,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 33.5% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,685,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,266,000 after acquiring an additional 674,366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Bank of America raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE SYF opened at $47.13 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a PE ratio of 6.76, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.62. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $27.30 and a fifty-two week high of $52.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

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.