Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Lowers Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC decreased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 35.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,159 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.3% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE SYF opened at $72.51 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $77.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.92, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.88.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $221,245.78. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,425.92. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total value of $591,440.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,644,402.17. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.