Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 273.1% in Q4, buying 130,136 shares to hold 177,780 shares worth about $15.74 million.
• Synchrony beat Q4 EPS estimates with $2.18 (vs. $2.02 consensus) on $3.79B revenue (slightly below expectations) and set FY2026 guidance of 9.10–9.50 EPS7.28 P/E$86.42 (Moderate Buy).
• Company insiders have sold heavily recently—379,928 shares worth about $26.17 million over the last 90 days—while insiders own just 0.32% of the stock.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 273.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 130,136 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $15,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 358 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 54.9% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 412 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth about $29,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

SYF opened at $67.62 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company's 50-day moving average price is $71.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.03. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77. The firm has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is currently 12.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.68, for a total value of $14,941,608.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 829,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,950,966.96. This trade represents a 20.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 12,980 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 $878,875.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,304,509.85. This trade represents a 27.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 379,928 shares of company stock worth $26,170,764. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SYF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Synchrony Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.42.

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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