Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,284 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Freedom Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 30.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,284 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 73,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,895,000 after acquiring an additional 17,061 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $11,506,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,711,000 after acquiring an additional 50,162 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 236,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,545,000 after acquiring an additional 5,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 44.0% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 12,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 3,844 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total value of $40,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,227.40. This trade represents a 2.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $595,980.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,801,160. This represents a 11.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 2.2%

SYF stock opened at $74.82 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.60 and a 200 day moving average of $65.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.50. 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.

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

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.38.

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.