Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases Shares of 7,949 Synchrony Financial $SYF

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $663,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of SYF. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 40.2% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. United Community Bank grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Community Bank now owns 4,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 54.9% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 5,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Up 0.0%

SYF stock opened at $68.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.39. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.54 and a 12 month high of $88.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.84 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.72% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.100-9.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 12.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on SYF. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Monday, December 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $83.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $101.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 47,112 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $3,164,041.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 64,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,082.36. This trade represents a 42.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alberto Casellas sold 14,399 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $974,956.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 50,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,407,912.01. The trade was a 22.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 379,928 shares of company stock worth $26,170,764. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.