Patton Fund Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 43.7%, now owning 46,153 shares valued at approximately $3,080,000, following the sale of 35,794 shares during the second quarter.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Synchrony Financial, with Fifth Third Bancorp boosting its stake by 9.5% and GAMMA Investing LLC by 22.7% in the same period.
• Synchrony Financial's stock has received multiple upgrades from analysts, with a current average target price of $74.37 and a majority rating of "Buy" from twelve analysts, indicating positive market sentiment.

Patton Fund Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 35,794 shares during the quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 30,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,065,000 after buying an additional 2,687 shares during the last quarter. Kwmg LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 112,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,513,000 after buying an additional 1,461 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 9.7% during the second quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 6,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 22.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth $3,103,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. BTIG Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.37.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF stock opened at $74.58 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $27.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.49. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.54 and a 1 year high of $77.41. The stock's fifty day moving average is $73.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.91.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for 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 period last year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $595,980.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares in the company, valued at $4,801,160. This trade represents a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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