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

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 494,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,702 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.14% of Synchrony Financial worth $41,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 8.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 36.2% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 35,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 9,460 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.7% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 337.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 56.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 1.2%

SYF stock opened at $73.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.59 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.37. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $55.10 and a 12 month high of $88.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.63 and its 200 day moving average is $75.03. 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 (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.13. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 23.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 9.29 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, April 21st that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, May 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 12.41%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 7,882 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $533,690.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 94,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,423,850.83. The trade was a 7.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Alberto Casellas sold 14,399 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $974,956.29. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 50,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,407,912.01. This represents a 22.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 323,372 shares of company stock valued at $22,080,634. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SYF. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Compass Point raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

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.