Wealth Management Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Wealth Management Associates Inc. has acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial, purchasing 6,190 shares valued at approximately $328,000 in the first quarter of the year.
• A significant number of institutional investors have increased their stakes in Synchrony Financial, with Nuveen LLC and Massachusetts Financial Services Co. making notable new acquisitions.
• Synchrony Financial reported $2.50 earnings per share for its latest quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, yielding 1.6% annually.

Wealth Management Associates Inc. bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth about $175,294,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $142,838,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 755.7% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,179,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,408,000 after buying an additional 1,925,217 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 129.5% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $161,528,000 after buying an additional 1,721,891 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 169.0% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,356,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $153,196,000 after buying an additional 1,480,702 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $595,980.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,801,160. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,494 shares of company stock valued at $1,376,450. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $74.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $27.84 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.49. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $71.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.38. 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 has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $77.41.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SYF. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.05.

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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