KBC Group NV Has $71.60 Million Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

KBC Group NV lessened its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,101,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 201,758 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $71,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 4,600,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $229,448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265,000 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 389.8% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 906,172 shares during the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth $41,088,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 589.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 644,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,133,000 after purchasing an additional 550,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,083,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $200,756,000 after purchasing an additional 481,750 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:SYF opened at $70.52 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $37.74 and a 52 week high of $70.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $66.75 and its 200-day moving average is $56.81. The firm has a market cap of $27.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.05%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $1,209,221.42. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 127,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.30.

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.