Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Trims Stake in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by 17.3%, selling 434,413 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 2,077,927 shares valued at approximately $110 million.
• Vanguard Group Inc. and other institutional investors increased their holdings in Synchrony Financial, with Vanguard acquiring a total of 48.4 million shares worth over $2.56 billion, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Synchrony Financial reported $2.50 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.72, despite a slight decrease in revenue year-over-year.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD trimmed its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,077,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 434,413 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.55% of Synchrony Financial worth $110,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,420,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,563,358,000 after purchasing an additional 281,383 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 6.5% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,868,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $310,653,000 after buying an additional 358,708 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.7% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,858,422 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $310,145,000 after purchasing an additional 706,212 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,183,717 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $336,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,922 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,576,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $297,496,000 after purchasing an additional 382,194 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of SYF stock traded down $0.15 on Friday, hitting $76.43. 2,404,313 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,017,632. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.16 and a 200 day moving average of $60.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.49. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $77.15.

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. 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 analysts' expectations of $3.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 14.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 68,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,801,160. This represents a 11.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,494 shares of company stock worth $1,376,450 in the last ninety days. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.