State of Michigan Retirement System Has $8.51 Million Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 102,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,700 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $8,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 54.9% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 337.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price 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. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alberto Casellas sold 14,399 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider owned 50,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,407,912.01. The trade was a 22.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 52,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.32, for a total transaction of $3,800,849.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 94,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,812,254.72. The trade was a 35.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 379,928 shares of company stock valued at $26,170,764. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.6%

SYF stock opened at $76.31 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 fifty day moving average price of $70.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.91. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $50.00 and a one year high of $88.77. The stock has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.39.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.3 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.