4,593,447 Shares in Synchrony Financial $SYF Acquired by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,593,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $383,231,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strategic Investment Advisors MI increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 68,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,890,000 after purchasing an additional 20,778 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.4% in 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. Tredje AP fonden increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 71.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 54,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,894,000 after purchasing an additional 22,856 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,108,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 506,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,982,000 after purchasing an additional 41,273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:SYF opened at $70.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.33, a P/E/G 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $72.02 and its 200-day moving average is $74.73. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $56.51 and a 1 year high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.80%.The firm’s revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.89 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 12.41%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $3,651,107.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 132,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.