Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Invests $44.02 Million in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 677,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $44,021,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 0.17% of Synchrony Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $347,903,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 340.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,512,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $163,303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942,573 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $336,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,922 shares during the period. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $35,986,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted 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 worth $200,756,000 after buying an additional 481,750 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 3.7 %

SYF stock opened at $54.22 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.55 and a twelve month high of $70.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $51.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.25.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.26. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.80 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. This is a boost from Synchrony Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 16.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $44.00 price target (down from $82.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Compass Point downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned 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 an average price target of $63.95.

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.

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