National Pension Service Cuts Stake in Synchrony Financial $SYF

National Pension Service reduced its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 964,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,325 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $80,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.2% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 35,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 9,460 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.7% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 20th. BTIG Research downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.05.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $71.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.39, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.76. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $56.51 and a 52-week high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced 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 business had revenue of $3.70 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.41%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $3,651,107.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 132,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 12,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $878,875.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,035 shares in the company, valued at $2,304,509.85. The trade was a 27.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 374,630 shares of company stock valued at $25,731,741. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

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.