Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,016,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 145,809 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $251,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $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 valued at $26,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 337.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on SYF shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Compass Point upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.05.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $71.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.50 and a 200 day moving average of $74.80. The firm has a market cap of $24.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.44, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $56.51 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 (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 analyst estimates 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 period last year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

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 $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.41%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Alberto Casellas sold 14,399 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $974,956.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,331 shares in the company, valued at $3,407,912.01. This trade represents a 22.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 132,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. The trade was a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 374,630 shares of company stock worth $25,731,741 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.