Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Increases Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,091,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 169,605 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.30% of Synchrony Financial worth $77,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $907,356,000 after acquiring an additional 3,494,741 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,194,000 after purchasing an additional 406,796 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,542,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,236,000 after purchasing an additional 333,093 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $299,360,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,266,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $284,737,000 after purchasing an additional 245,527 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.47.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $76.56 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.56. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $88.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $27.58 billion, a PE ratio of 8.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.43.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,402.17. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $221,245.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,425.92. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.