Man Group plc Decreases Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Man Group plc lessened its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 50.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,427,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,444,285 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $119,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $383,231,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 34.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $907,356,000 after buying an additional 3,494,741 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,494,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 222.5% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 937,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,555,000 after buying an additional 646,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,134,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $431,999,000 after buying an additional 592,567 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $3,651,107.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 132,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,449,656.72. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF stock opened at $74.02 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.33. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $60.18 and a 52-week high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.80%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.05.

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.