Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Sells 15,040 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management SPA SGR reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by 29.5%, selling 15,040 shares during the second quarter, leaving them with approximately $2.4 million in holdings.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, have increased their positions in Synchrony Financial, reflecting a growing interest in the stock.
• Synchrony Financial announced a $1.00 billion share repurchase program and reported robust earnings, beating consensus estimates with $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR cut its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 29.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,962 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,040 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $2,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 13.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 68.7% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 8,242 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 99.8% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 40,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 20,040 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $636,000. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total value of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,801,160. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.25.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF opened at $70.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.39 and a 200 day moving average of $64.56. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $77.41. 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 (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. Synchrony Financial's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were 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 was Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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