Vest Financial LLC Purchases 21,534 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Synchrony by 3.8%, buying 21,534 shares to hold 587,954 shares (about 0.16% of the company) valued at roughly $49.05 million, while institutional investors collectively own 96.48% of the stock.
• Synchrony beat quarterly EPS estimates with $2.27 vs. $2.14 expected and reported $3.70 billion in revenue (down 7.4% YoY), set FY2026 EPS guidance of 9.10–9.50, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 (1.6% yield).
• Several analysts raised price targets (e.g., Barclays to $93, TD Cowen to $100) and the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $86.32.

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 587,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 21,534 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.16% of Synchrony Financial worth $49,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,080,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,355,698,000 after purchasing an additional 191,920 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,335,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,018,517,000 after purchasing an additional 739,832 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,307,077 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $354,194,000 after purchasing an additional 406,796 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,134,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $431,999,000 after purchasing an additional 592,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 48.3% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $77.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $50.00 and a 1-year high of $88.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.39. The company's 50-day moving average is $70.22 and its 200 day moving average is $74.85.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The firm'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. Research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 9.3 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 board believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Alberto Casellas sold 14,399 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $974,956.29. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,331 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,407,912.01. This trade represents a 22.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 12,980 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $878,875.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,304,509.85. This trade represents a 27.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 379,928 shares of company stock valued at $26,170,764. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SYF. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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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