Virtu Financial LLC Acquires New Stake in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has acquired a stake in Synchrony Financial worth approximately $288,000, consisting of 5,450 shares, as disclosed in a recent SEC filing.
• Various other institutional investors have also increased their holdings in Synchrony Financial, indicating strong interest, with hedge funds owning 96.48% of the company's stock.
• Synchrony Financial reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.50, surpassing estimates of $1.72, despite a slight revenue decline compared to the previous year.

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,450 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mariner LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 112,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,322,000 after acquiring an additional 10,705 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $532,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 17,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 34,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,261,000 after buying an additional 6,570 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. This represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,494 shares of company stock worth $1,376,450 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $64.00 to $56.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF traded down $0.2150 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.5750. 1,919,528 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,075,656. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.54 and a 1 year high of $73.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.49. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $68.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.21.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The firm's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid 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 1.7%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 14.56%.

Synchrony Financial 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.