Synchrony Financial $SYF Shares Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 13.1% in the first quarter, owning approximately 0.17% of the company, valued at $33.93 million.
• Insider transactions have occurred, with Curtis Howse and Brian J. Sr. Wenzel selling shares, resulting in an overall 9.53% and 11.04% decrease in their positions, respectively.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Synchrony Financial, with 12 analysts giving it a "Buy" rating and an average price target of $74.05.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 640,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 74,029 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.17% of Synchrony Financial worth $33,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SYF. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 355.9% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 693 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 89.0% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 68,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,801,160. This represents a 11.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,494 shares of company stock worth $1,376,450 in the last 90 days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. BTIG Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $73.1650 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.01 and a 200-day moving average of $60.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $74.11.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 14.43%.The business's revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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