Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 685,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 71,757 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.18% of Synchrony Financial worth $44,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $55.85 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.03 and a 200-day moving average of $60.47. 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 firm has a market cap of $21.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.54, 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.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its 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 return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lifted 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. Barclays raised Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.10.

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.