Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 32,047 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 24.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,047 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $12,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,080,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,355,698,000 after purchasing an additional 191,920 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.6% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $907,356,000 after buying an additional 3,494,741 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,230,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,778,000 after buying an additional 442,226 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 6.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,039,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $410,760,000 after acquiring an additional 365,353 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,490,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,108,000 after acquiring an additional 517,781 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.89.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $80.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.32. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $63.08 and a 1-year high of $88.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.67.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.72 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.44% and a return on equity of 23.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.250-9.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

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

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.