Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $196.30 Million Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,941,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 761,263 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.79% of Synchrony Financial worth $196,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $175,294,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 129.5% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,891 shares in the last quarter. Khrom Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the first quarter worth $73,699,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.0% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,900,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,421,000 after buying an additional 1,297,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 25.0% during the first quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $264,700,000 after buying an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SYF shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Synchrony Financial to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.38.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $73.05 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.61. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.54 and a 12 month high of $77.41. The company has a market cap of $26.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders 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 is Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.10%.

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

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $221,245.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,425.92. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 108,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,219.42. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,075 shares of company stock valued at $1,707,292. 0.33% 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.