Achmea Investment Management B.V. Buys 9,804 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 117,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,804 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $7,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 396.1% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 18,171 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 487,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,327,000 after buying an additional 10,294 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 8.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,061,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $102,852,000 after acquiring an additional 158,960 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.30.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $51.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $39.67 and a twelve month high of $70.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $63.90 and its 200 day moving average is $60.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released 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 return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio 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.