Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 21,479 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by 29.4%, selling 21,479 shares, leaving it with 51,657 shares valued at approximately $3,521,000.
• Synchrony Financial recently announced a $1.00 billion share buyback plan, allowing the company to buy back up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases, reflecting a belief that its stock is undervalued.
• Analysts have increased their price targets for Synchrony Financial, with Bank of America raising its price objective to $80.00 and Wells Fargo to $85.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 29.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 21,479 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,420,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,563,358,000 after acquiring an additional 281,383 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.5% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,868,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $310,653,000 after acquiring an additional 358,708 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,858,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $310,145,000 after acquiring an additional 706,212 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.0% during the first quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.0% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,900,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $259,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297,859 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the 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 sale, the insider 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of SYF stock opened at $72.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $77.41. The company has a market capitalization of $26.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.50. The business's fifty day moving average is $73.48 and its 200 day moving average is $65.08.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Redburn Atlantic raised Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.38.

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.

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