Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 9.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 922,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,209 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.25% of Synchrony Financial worth $61,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.3% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.7% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the subject of several analyst reports. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, August 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. One equities 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.com, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.38.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $75.54 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $73.57 and a 200-day moving average of $68.20. The company 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total transaction of $591,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,402.17. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 16,096 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,425.92. The trade was a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,075 shares of company stock worth $1,707,292. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial 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.