Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 352,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 41,346 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $29,403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $69.64 on Thursday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $72.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.42 billion, a PE ratio of 7.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.33. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $59.46 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given 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%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. 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 report on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 132,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.