AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 1,591,378 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 54.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,309,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,591,378 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $93,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 66,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,736,000 after acquiring an additional 4,748 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.6% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 720,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,157,000 after purchasing an additional 198,991 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 21,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 49,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 9,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Synchrony Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Synchrony Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and operational positives: SYF reported $2.18 EPS vs. $2.02 consensus, benefiting from margin expansion, lower charge-offs and buybacks — a clear near-term earnings driver. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst buy support and high price targets: Several firms kept or raised bullish views (Compass Point upgrade to Buy, BTIG and TD Cowen reaffirmed Buy ratings with ~$95–96 targets), supplying upside narratives for investors. Compass Point Upgrade BTIG Note
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared: quarterly common dividend of $0.30/share (annualized yield ~1.6%) supports income-oriented holders. Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance set to $9.10–$9.50 EPS (consensus ~9.34) — guidance is roughly in line but leaves limited surprise upside, so it’s a mixed catalyst. Guidance Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price-target adjustments: Several shops trimmed targets (JPMorgan $86→$84, RBC $91→$85, Barclays $101→$93) — these lower PTs temper enthusiasm but many still imply double‑digit upside. Benzinga Notes TickerReport
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue and costs headwinds: Q4 revenue of $3.79B missed street ~$3.84B and Reuters flagged profit hit by a restructuring charge and higher costs — these items pressure near-term margins. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term investment/expense pressures and credit-policy risk: Management flagged higher RSA and other investments and analysis pieces warn political risk (card rate caps) and elevated near-term provisions could cap EPS growth in 2026. Seeking Alpha

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, Director Arthur W. Coviello, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.93, for a total value of $591,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,644,402.17. This trade represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total transaction of $221,245.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 16,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,425.92. This represents a 15.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $73.49 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $40.54 and a 12-month high of $88.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.72% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on SYF shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.47.

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.