Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $24.46 Million Stake in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 359,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,235 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $24,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 214,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,562,000 after purchasing an additional 19,100 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 97.0% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 15,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 7,707 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 242.9% in the 1st quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 17,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 3,850 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $3,651,107.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 132,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,449,656.72. This represents a 27.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

SYF stock opened at $74.03 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $63.08 and a twelve month high of $88.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $24.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $73.09 and its 200-day moving average is $73.54.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 23.41% and a net margin of 15.80%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.89 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 9.33 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, April 21st that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is presently 12.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SYF has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. HSBC boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.32.

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.