Synchrony Financial $SYF Shares Bought by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.3%, owning approximately 4,020,839 shares worth $206.7 million.
• Wall Street analysts remain optimistic, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.05 for SYF, reflecting recent positive upgrades from several firms.
• Synchrony Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30, representing an annualized yield of 1.6% with a low dividend payout ratio of 14.56%.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,020,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 50,162 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $206,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 149.9% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 11,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 6,784 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $213,000. FJ Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $363,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 21.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,063,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,311,000 after acquiring an additional 187,939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the subject of several recent research reports. JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. BTIG Research raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on 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

NYSE:SYF opened at $75.40 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $71.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.98. The firm has a market cap of $28.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.49. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $40.54 and a 52-week high of $77.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.78. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for 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%.Synchrony Financial's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 of the company's stock, valued at $7,024,030. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $595,980.00. Following the sale, 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 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 valued at $1,376,450 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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