First Trust Advisors LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in Synchrony by 5.5% in Q3, selling 297,585 shares and ending the quarter with 5,103,945 shares (about 1.42% of the company) valued at $362.6M.
• Other institutions made large moves: Norges Bank opened a new position worth about $299.36M and Bank of America increased its stake 34.6% to 13.6M shares (~$907.4M), leaving institutional ownership at 96.48%.
• Synchrony beat Q results (EPS $2.18 vs. $2.02), set FY2026 guidance of $9.10–$9.50 EPS, trades at a P/E of 7.17 with a $23.16B market cap, pays a $0.30 quarterly dividend (1.8% yield), and insiders sold roughly 379,928 shares (~$26.2M) last quarter.

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,103,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 297,585 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.42% of Synchrony Financial worth $362,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the second quarter worth about $299,360,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Synchrony Financial by 34.6% during the second 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. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 48.3% during the third 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. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 149.4% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,803,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $127,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,941,247 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $196,299,000 after purchasing an additional 761,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $66.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $88.77. The company has a market capitalization of $23.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $76.06 and a 200-day moving average of $75.85.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 15.72%.The company's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.91 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on SYF shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Compass Point upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.68, for a total transaction of $14,941,608.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 829,222 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,950,966.96. The trade was a 20.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 47,112 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $3,164,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 64,221 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,082.36. This represents a 42.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 379,928 shares of company stock valued at $26,170,764. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company 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.

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