Panagora Asset Management Inc. Acquires 194,985 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,464,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 194,985 shares during the quarter. Synchrony Financial accounts for approximately 0.7% of Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.66% of Synchrony Financial worth $164,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,420,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,563,358,000 after buying an additional 281,383 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,858,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $310,145,000 after acquiring an additional 706,212 shares in the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.0% in the first quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.0% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,900,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth about $299,360,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,402.17. This trade represents a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,271 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,219.42. The trade was a 10.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $77.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.89. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.54 and a 1 year high of $77.91. The company has a market capitalization of $27.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.46.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. HSBC raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.38.

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.