Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 7,235 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 359,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,235 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.11% of Synchrony Financial worth $24,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 35,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after acquiring an additional 9,460 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 337.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 56.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SYF shares. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $71.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.32.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SYF opened at $74.03 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $63.08 and a 1-year high of $88.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.09 and a 200-day moving average of $73.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $24.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 12.41%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 51,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 132,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,449,656.72. The trade was a 27.87% 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 hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.36% 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.