MUFG Securities EMEA plc Increases Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc sharply increased its stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter, boosting holdings by 990.6% to 77,665 shares worth about $6.48 million.
• Synchrony Financial’s latest quarter showed earnings of $2.27 per share, beating expectations, though revenue came in below estimates at $3.70 billion and fell 7.4% year over year.
• Wall Street remains cautiously optimistic: analysts rate SYF as a Moderate Buy overall with an average target price of $86.05, while the stock recently traded around $71.44.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 990.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 70,544 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $6,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Advisors MI grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 43.2% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 68,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,890,000 after purchasing an additional 20,778 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew 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 worth $1,018,517,000 after buying an additional 739,832 shares in the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 71.5% during the third quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 54,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,894,000 after buying an additional 22,856 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth about $2,108,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 506,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,982,000 after buying an additional 41,273 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $81.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment 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, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.05.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE SYF opened at $71.44 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $56.51 and a 1-year high of $88.77. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.92 and a 200-day moving average of $74.76. The firm has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a PE ratio of 7.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.33.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. Synchrony Financial's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has approved a share 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $3,651,107.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 132,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. The trade was a 27.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $3,164,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 64,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,313,082.36. This trade represents a 42.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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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