Ritholtz Wealth Management Raises Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,802 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $5,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 56.5% during the second quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 370,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,719,000 after buying an additional 133,780 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,266,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $284,737,000 after acquiring an additional 245,527 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,542,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,236,000 after acquiring an additional 333,093 shares in the last quarter. Monument Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,735,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 58,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,157,000 after purchasing an additional 19,513 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $86.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $91.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $77.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $27.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.14. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $40.54 and a 12 month high of $88.77.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 22.96%. Synchrony Financial’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.10%.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, October 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.