Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 494,354 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management sharply boosted its Synchrony Financial stake, buying 494,354 shares in the first quarter and raising its holdings by 959.4% to 545,880 shares worth about $37.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but generally positive: analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus on SYF with an average price target of $86.05, even as some firms trimmed or adjusted their targets.
• Synchrony Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $2.27 versus $2.14 estimates, while also paying a $0.30 quarterly dividend and continuing a stock buyback program.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 959.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 545,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 494,354 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.16% of Synchrony Financial worth $37,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $383,231,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 34.6% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 3,494,741 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,494,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.0% during the fourth 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 institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. Loop Capital assumed coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.05.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.2%

SYF opened at $78.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $26.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.14, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.33. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $73.61 and its 200-day moving average is $74.46. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $63.08 and a 1-year high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue 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 research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.41%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $3,651,107.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 132,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,449,656.72. The trade was a 27.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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.

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.

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