Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 62,480 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.0% in Q4, buying 62,480 shares to hold 956,854 shares worth about $79.83 million (≈0.27% of the company).
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently: Curtis Howse sold 52,556 shares (~$3.8M) and Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares (~$14.94M), with insiders disposing of 379,928 shares worth $26.17M in the last 90 days (insider ownership ~0.33%).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but mildly positive — the consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $85, while several firms trimmed targets (Barclays, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Truist) and Compass Point upgraded to a buy with a $96 target.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 956,854 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 62,480 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.27% of Synchrony Financial worth $79,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 94,121 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,852,000 after purchasing an additional 16,901 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 2,359 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,524 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,266 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 52,556 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.32, for a total value of $3,800,849.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 94,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,812,254.72. This represents a 35.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.68, for a total transaction of $14,941,608.72. Following the transaction, the insider owned 829,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,950,966.96. This trade represents a 20.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 379,928 shares of company stock worth $26,170,764. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SYF. Barclays decreased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 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, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $71.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.00.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $75.58 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.47. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $46.13 and a 12 month high of $88.77. The company has a market capitalization of $26.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 12.92%.

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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