Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stake in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 25.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 130,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,130 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $10,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.68, for a total transaction of $14,941,608.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 829,222 shares in the company, valued at $56,950,966.96. This represents a 20.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 3,865 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $261,699.15. Following the sale, the insider owned 17,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,180,320.72. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 374,630 shares of company stock worth $25,731,741 over the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Compass Point raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $71.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $55.67 and a 1-year high of $88.77.

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

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.41%.

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.