Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases 370,603 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2,602.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 384,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 370,603 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $26,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,080,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,698,000 after acquiring an additional 191,920 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake 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 last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,230,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $519,778,000 after purchasing an additional 442,226 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,039,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $410,760,000 after purchasing an additional 365,353 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 517,781 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of SYF opened at $72.88 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $63.08 and a 52 week high of $88.77. The firm has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.250-9.500 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from Synchrony Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 13.93%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 132,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company 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.