HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 55,032 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has decreased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 65.2%, now owning 29,358 shares worth approximately $1.55 million.
• Several analysts have provided positive outlooks for Synchrony Financial, with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan raising their price targets to $78.00 and $80.00, respectively.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, translating to an annual yield of 1.6%.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 65.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 55,032 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 46,472 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,021,000 after purchasing an additional 18,890 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 114,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,434,000 after purchasing an additional 4,533 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 340.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,512,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $163,303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 288,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,771,000 after acquiring an additional 16,200 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% 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 11,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,494 shares of company stock worth $1,376,450 over the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 target price on the stock. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:SYF traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $76.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,133,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,009,485. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $28.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.49. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $70.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.67. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $77.15.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.55 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

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.