Erste Asset Management GmbH Cuts Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by 98.7% in Q1, leaving it with only 1,400 shares valued at $74,000 after selling over 106,000 shares.
• Several research firms have altered their price targets for Synchrony Financial, with Barclays lowering its target to $80.00 while BTIG upgraded the stock to a "buy" rating with a price objective of $100.00.
• The company recently reported Q2 earnings of $2.50 per share, significantly outperforming analysts' expectations of $1.72, although quarterly revenue decreased by 1.8% year-over-year.

Erste Asset Management GmbH lowered its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 98.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 106,539 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 73,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,895,000 after buying an additional 17,061 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,506,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,485,000 after buying an additional 13,526 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 70.2% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 4,397 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 236,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,545,000 after buying an additional 5,765 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JMP Securities raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 transaction, the insider owned 108,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,024,030. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,494 shares of company stock worth $1,376,450. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $73.1650 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.49. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.54 and a 12-month high of $74.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 14.43%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

About Synchrony Financial

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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