Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Acquires Shares of 7,473 Synchrony Financial $SYF

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC bought a new position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gries Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. Longboard Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $231,000. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 19.3% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 18.0% during the third quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 37,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,672,000 after acquiring an additional 5,727 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Baird R W cut Synchrony Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Hsbc Global Res raised Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 127,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,252,880. This trade represents a 20.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.02, for a total value of $894,605.72. Following the transaction, the insider owned 108,271 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,219.42. This trade represents a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.9%

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $86.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.96 and a 200 day moving average of $74.79. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $40.54 and a one year high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The business had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.