Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 190,414 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon trimmed its Synchrony Financial stake by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 190,414 shares and leaving it with about 2.7 million shares valued at roughly $225 million.
• Synchrony reported better-than-expected earnings of $2.27 per share, though revenue of $3.70 billion came in below estimates and fell 7.4% from a year earlier.
• The company also returned cash to shareholders through a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share and an ongoing stock repurchase plan, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $86.05.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,697,510 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 190,414 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.75% of Synchrony Financial worth $225,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 5.4% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,335,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,018,517,000 after purchasing an additional 739,832 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $354,194,000 after buying an additional 406,796 shares in the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 592,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter worth $383,231,000. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $70.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.62. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $58.31 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77. The firm has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.33.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.89 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial'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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 132,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,449,656.72. This trade represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SYF. BTIG Research cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.05.

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.

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