Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Raises Stake in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 19.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,398 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $3,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $907,356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,494,741 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,349,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,909 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth $84,494,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 222.5% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 937,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,555,000 after purchasing an additional 646,642 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,134,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $431,999,000 after purchasing an additional 592,567 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $72.06 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.91 and a 200 day moving average of $74.86. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $55.67 and a 12 month high of $88.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.80%.The company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. Synchrony Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.41%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. Wall Street Zen cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Compass Point upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price target on 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 cut 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 47,112 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $3,164,041.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 64,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,082.36. This trade represents a 42.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 3,865 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 $261,699.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,432 shares in the company, valued at $1,180,320.72. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 374,630 shares of company stock worth $25,731,741 over the last ninety days. Company 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.