Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 83.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93,215 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CoreFirst Bank & Trust boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 57.8% in the 1st quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust now owns 505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 3.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 27,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,867,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $171,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 82.5% in the first quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,785,000 after purchasing an additional 18,503 shares during the period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.2% in the first quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 59,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE SYF opened at $78.60 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $63.08 and a 52 week high of $88.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $74.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $25.57 billion, a PE ratio of 8.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.32.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 23.09%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.250-9.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the insider 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.89.

Synchrony Financial 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.