Amundi Trims Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by 5.4%, owning 1,676,096 shares after selling 95,555 shares, valued at approximately $88,733,000.
• Synchrony Financial reported $2.50 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.78, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 1.8%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%.

Amundi trimmed its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,676,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 95,555 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.44% of Synchrony Financial worth $88,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SYF. Redburn Atlantic raised Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.98 on Tuesday, hitting $76.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,150,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,960,529. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $77.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $28.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.48. The company's 50 day moving average price is $71.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.18.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.78. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 14.43%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,227.40. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,494 shares of company stock worth $1,376,450 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.