Mather Group LLC. Invests $205,000 in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the third quarter valued at $100,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SYF. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JMP Securities raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.74.

Insider Activity at Synchrony Financial

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

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SYF opened at $45.60 on Friday. The company 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Synchrony Financial has a 52 week low of $26.59 and a 52 week high of $45.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.28.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Synchrony Financial announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.