Panagora Asset Management Inc. Purchases 6,089 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.3%, now owning 2,269,326 shares valued at approximately $120 million.
• Synchrony Financial's stock has seen a slight decline of 0.2%, with a recent opening price of $76.43 and a market capitalization of $28.44 billion.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with Goldman Sachs upgrading it to a target of $78.00 and Wall Street Zen downgrading to a "hold" rating.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,269,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,089 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.60% of Synchrony Financial worth $120,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $175,294,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $142,838,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 755.7% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,179,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925,217 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 700.5% during the 4th quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 2,107,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $161,528,000 after buying an additional 1,721,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed 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. Finally, 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. Twelve equities research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,227.40. The trade was a 2.73% 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 the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares in the company, valued at $4,801,160. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,494 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,450 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE SYF traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $76.63. 662,444 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,980,610. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.54 and a 12-month high of $77.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.98. The firm has a market cap of $28.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.49.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.78. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 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.