Legal & General Group Plc Sells 145,809 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its Synchrony Financial stake by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 145,809 shares and ending with 3,016,134 shares valued at about $251.6 million. Institutional investors still own a dominant 96.48% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive, with Synchrony carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $86.05. Recent moves included target cuts from JPMorgan and rating downgrades from Wall Street Zen and BTIG, while Barclays raised its target and Compass Point upgraded the stock.
• Synchrony posted solid quarterly earnings, reporting EPS of $2.27, which beat expectations, though revenue of $3.70 billion fell short of estimates and declined 7.4% year over year. The company also paid a $0.30 quarterly dividend and its board authorized a stock buyback plan.

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,016,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 145,809 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.84% of Synchrony Financial worth $251,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 358 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 474 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Compass Point raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.05.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $71.98 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $56.51 and a 52-week high of $88.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $71.50 and a 200-day moving average of $74.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. The firm's 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. Equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 12.41%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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 owned 132,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,449,656.72. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of the 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 directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 374,630 shares of company stock worth $25,731,741 in the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by 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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