Candriam S.C.A. Acquires 33,368 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 6.0% during Q1, acquiring an additional 33,368 shares, bringing their total ownership to approximately 0.16% of the company, valued at $31.4 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Allspring Global Investments and Merit Financial Group, significantly increased their stakes in Synchrony Financial during the same quarter, indicating growing institutional interest.
• Synchrony Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30, with a current payout ratio of 14.56%, contributing to an annualized yield of 1.7% for shareholders.

Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 592,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,368 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.16% of Synchrony Financial worth $31,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 30.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 73,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,895,000 after buying an additional 17,061 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at $11,506,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.9% in the first quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,485,000 after buying an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 70.2% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $564,000 after buying an additional 4,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,765 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. BTIG Research raised Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.3%

SYF stock opened at $71.5750 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $26.63 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.29. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $73.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $739,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 68,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,801,160. This represents a 11.04% 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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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