ProShare Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 104,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,091 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the first quarter worth $175,294,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 755.7% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 129.5% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,528,000 after buying an additional 1,721,891 shares during the period. Khrom Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth about $73,699,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $259,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297,859 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $75.54 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $40.54 and a 1 year high of $77.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.51.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SYF shares. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn began coverage on Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, August 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $221,245.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,425.92. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 108,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,219.42. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,075 shares of company stock valued at $1,707,292 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.