Synchrony Financial $SYF Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.5% in Q4, selling 1,167,174 shares and now owns 45,833,824 shares (about 12.73%) valued at roughly $3.82 billion.
• Company insiders sold a total of 379,928 shares worth about $26.17M over the last quarter (notably March 2 sales by Curtis Howse and Brian D. Doubles), leaving insiders with just 0.33% ownership.
• Synchrony beat Q earnings estimates with $2.27 EPS versus $2.14 expected while revenue fell 7.4% year-over-year; it set FY2026 guidance of 9.10–9.50 EPS (analyst consensus ~9.3) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 (1.6% yield).

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,833,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,167,174 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.73% of Synchrony Financial worth $3,823,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,080,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,355,698,000 after buying an additional 191,920 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of 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. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $354,194,000 after buying an additional 406,796 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,134,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $431,999,000 after buying an additional 592,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,416,909 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 7,882 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $533,690.22. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 94,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,423,850.83. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 829,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,950,966.96. The trade was a 20.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 379,928 shares of company stock valued at $26,170,764 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF opened at $77.15 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Synchrony Financial has a 52-week low of $50.00 and a 52-week high of $88.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.85. The company has a market cap of $26.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.39.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. 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. On average, analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 9.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 12.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Compass Point upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $96.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.32.

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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