Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $425.29 Million Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,542,643 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 460 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $425,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,963,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $650,678,000 after acquiring an additional 205,641 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,509,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,105,000 after purchasing an additional 380,870 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $347,903,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,756,000 after buying an additional 481,750 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 16.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $76.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Compass Point cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.11.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of SYF opened at $47.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 5.60, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.55 and a 12 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, beating 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.