Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Acquires 32,595 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services LLC sharply increased its stake in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter, adding 32,595 shares and lifting its holdings to 32,923 shares worth about $2.75 million.
• Institutional interest in SYF remains strong, with several large investors boosting positions and 96.48% of the stock now owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Synchrony Financial reported Q1 earnings of $2.27 per share, beating estimates, and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share while maintaining analyst coverage at a Moderate Buy rating.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 9,937.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 32,595 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $907,356,000 after buying an additional 3,494,741 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 48.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,349,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $309,001,000 after buying an additional 1,416,909 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $84,494,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 222.5% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 937,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,555,000 after acquiring an additional 646,642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,134,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $431,999,000 after acquiring an additional 592,567 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SYF. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Compass Point raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.32.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.68, for a total transaction of $14,941,608.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 829,222 shares in the company, valued at $56,950,966.96. This trade represents a 20.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 7,882 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $533,690.22. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 94,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,423,850.83. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 323,372 shares of company stock valued at $22,080,634. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $69.78 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.97. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $55.67 and a one year high of $88.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.22, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.13. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.80%.The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.41%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

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.

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