Mather Group LLC. Makes New Investment in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 5,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC now owns 42,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 255.2% during the fourth quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 27,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,069,000 after buying an additional 20,110 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 126.9% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 60,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,297,000 after buying an additional 33,631 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $131,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 501,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,169,000 after acquiring an additional 46,036 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $62.00 in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. StockNews.com raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.74.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SYF stock opened at $45.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $42.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.58. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $26.59 and a 12 month high of $45.91.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.01% and a net margin of 13.49%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Profile

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.