Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $20.35 Million Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 313,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,021 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $20,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SYF. Norges Bank bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $347,903,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 389.8% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,138,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,797,000 after buying an additional 906,172 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,088,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 18.5% during 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. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 231.3% during the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 559,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,368,000 after acquiring an additional 390,602 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Compass Point lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $52.92 on Tuesday. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $39.67 and a one year high of $70.93. The company has a market cap of $20.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.86 and a 200-day moving average of $60.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted 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 net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 18.30%. Equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.