Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 663,499 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH has reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial, selling 663,499 shares and now holding approximately 5.2 million shares (1.40% of the company).
• Synchrony Financial announced a $1 billion stock buyback plan, allowing repurchase of up to 3.7% of its stock, signaling management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Recent analyst ratings for Synchrony Financial include upgrades from several brokerages, with a consensus target price of $77.45 and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Allianz Asset Management GmbH trimmed its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 11.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,204,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 663,499 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 1.40% of Synchrony Financial worth $347,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 30.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 73,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 17,061 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,506,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $206,711,000 after acquiring an additional 50,162 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.5% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 236,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,545,000 after acquiring an additional 5,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $242,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,227.40. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 68,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,801,160. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SYF. BTIG Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.45.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $72.24 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $26.88 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.44. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $77.41.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 14.43%.The business's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is 14.56%.

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.

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