Synchrony Financial $SYF Position Increased by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 39.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,328 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 8.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 46,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after acquiring an additional 5,494 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 511.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 67,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,581,000 after buying an additional 56,579 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,288,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $227,022,000 after purchasing an additional 120,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $469,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. HSBC upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the company’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 owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,402.17. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the firm’s 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 $221,245.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,425.92. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892 in the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $87.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.43. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $40.54 and a one year high of $88.53. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.53. 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 (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has authorized 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 purchase 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 stock is undervalued.

About Synchrony Financial

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) is a consumer financial services company that specializes in providing point-of-sale financing and private-label, co-branded and branded credit card programs. The company serves as a payments and lending partner to retailers, digital merchants and service providers, offering consumer financing solutions designed to drive customer engagement and sales. Synchrony also operates a direct bank that offers deposit products, including savings accounts and certificates of deposit, which support its funding and customer-facing product suite.

Its core product set includes private-label and co-branded credit cards, general-purpose credit cards, installment loan programs and promotional financing options that are integrated into merchants’ checkout experiences.