Heritage Investors Management Corp Decreases Stock Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Heritage Investors Management Corp cut its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 417,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,178 shares during the period. Synchrony Financial comprises about 1.0% of Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Heritage Investors Management Corp owned about 0.12% of Synchrony Financial worth $34,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. BTIG Research cut Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $71.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $71.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.84. 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 $24.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.44, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 12.41%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider owned 132,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. The trade was 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. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 47,112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 64,221 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,082.36. The trade was a 42.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 374,630 shares of company stock worth $25,731,741 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.