Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 41.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 697,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 489,775 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Synchrony Financial worth $46,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 5,787.5% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 337.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 36.3% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $76.59 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $40.54 and a 52 week high of $77.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $27.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.51.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of Synchrony Financial 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 owned 108,271 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,219.42. The trade was a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total transaction of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 127,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,252,880. This represents a 20.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892. Corporate insiders own 0.33% 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.