Synchrony Financial $SYF Shares Acquired by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 228,900 shares valued at about $19.1 million.
• Synchrony Financial reported Q1 earnings of $2.27 per share, topping analysts’ estimate of $2.14, though revenue came in below expectations at $3.70 billion and fell 7.4% year over year.
• The company’s insiders have been selling shares, including a large sale by Brian D. Doubles, while analysts currently view SYF as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $86.05.

Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,400 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden owned 0.06% of Synchrony Financial worth $19,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $383,231,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of 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. lifted its position 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 valued at $309,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,909 shares during the period. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $84,494,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 222.5% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 937,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,555,000 after purchasing an additional 646,642 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 829,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,950,966.96. The trade was a 20.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alberto Casellas sold 14,399 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $974,956.29. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,407,912.01. The trade was a 22.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 374,630 shares of company stock worth $25,731,741. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of SYF stock opened at $71.44 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $56.51 and a 1-year high of $88.77. The company has a market cap of $24.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.39, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.76.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.89 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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 dividend of $0.30 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 12.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SYF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.05.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SYF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.