Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 41.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,602,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,812,347 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $137,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth about $175,294,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $142,838,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in 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. lifted its holdings in 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 lifted its holdings in 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $76.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.33, 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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.35 and a 200 day moving average of $61.06. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $77.15.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced 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 business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 14.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on SYF shares. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $52.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 68,588 shares in the company, valued at $4,801,160. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,227.40. This represents a 2.73% 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 worth $1,376,450 in the last 90 days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.