Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Sells 25,286 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH decreased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 427,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,286 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $35,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.9% during the 1st 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 period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.2% during the 1st 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 period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 56.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on SYF. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF stock opened at $76.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.39. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $49.50 and a 12-month high of $88.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.72.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 12.41%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.68, for a total value of $14,941,608.72. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 829,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,950,966.96. This represents a 20.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 52,556 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.32, for a total value of $3,800,849.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 94,196 shares in the company, valued at $6,812,254.72. The trade was a 35.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 379,928 shares of company stock worth $26,170,764 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.