Vest Financial LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Vest Financial LLC decreased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 574,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 177,702 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $38,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. 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 period. 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 period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of SYF stock opened at $68.07 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.50. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $77.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.22 and a 200 day moving average of $64.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.71 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 21.34% and a net margin of 14.43%.Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SYF. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.45.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,801,160. This represents a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 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.