Virtus Advisers LLC Sells 17,765 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Virtus Advisers LLC significantly reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial by 87.7%, holding only 2,501 shares after selling 17,765 shares in the first quarter.
• Despite the reduction by Virtus, other institutional investors increased their positions, with notable purchases including Nuveen LLC investing approximately $175 million in Synchrony Financial.
• Synchrony Financial reported earnings of $2.50 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue dipped 1.8% from the prior year to $3.65 billion.

Virtus Advisers LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 87.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,765 shares during the quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 130,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $397,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth $8,422,000. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC now owns 13,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SYF. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.05.

Insider Activity

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 value of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. This represents a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,494 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,450 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.2%

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

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given 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 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.