Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $36.82 Million Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 8.8%, owning approximately 0.18% of the company valued at $36.8 million.
• Several analysts raised their price targets for Synchrony Financial, with JPMorgan Chase lifting it from $52.00 to $80.00 and the consensus rating now being "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $74.05.
• Synchrony Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, providing an annualized yield of 1.7% and reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 14.56%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 695,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 56,298 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.18% of Synchrony Financial worth $36,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 294,843 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,165,000 after purchasing an additional 56,483 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 231,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,028,000 after purchasing an additional 30,790 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 233.4% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 83,644 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,437,000 after purchasing an additional 58,558 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 52,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 465,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,232,000 after buying an additional 45,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,801,160. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total value of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 61,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,817,635. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cfra Research raised Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.53. 146,931 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,103,711. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.07 and a 200 day moving average of $60.17. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $73.76. The company has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.49.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.78. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 14.43%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.56%.

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.