Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 11,702 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 494,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,702 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $41,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Donoghue Forlines LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,064,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,542,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,236,000 after purchasing an additional 333,093 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 73.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 77,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,486,000 after purchasing an additional 32,802 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 43.2% during 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. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 5.4% during 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. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Synchrony Financial news, 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 sale, the insider directly owned 94,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,423,850.83. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 217,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.68, for a total transaction of $14,941,608.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 829,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,950,966.96. The trade was a 20.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 323,372 shares of company stock valued at $22,080,634. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of SYF opened at $73.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.59 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 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. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $55.10 and a 1-year high of $88.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.03.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.89 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 12.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Compass Point raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.