Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Cuts Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 89.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 51,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 434,737 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $4,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $299,360,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,595,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $907,356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,494,741 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $309,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,416,909 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 149.4% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,803,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 222.5% during the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 937,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,555,000 after purchasing an additional 646,642 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $65.31 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.03, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.89.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.16. The firm 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%. Synchrony Financial’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on SYF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 47,112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $3,164,041.92. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 64,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,082.36. The trade was a 42.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 7,882 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $533,690.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 94,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,423,850.83. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 379,928 shares of company stock valued at $26,170,764. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.