Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Takes $215,000 Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 158.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,095,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900,216 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Synchrony Financial by 16.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,468,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,187,000 after purchasing an additional 755,856 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 33.0% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,907,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,871,000 after purchasing an additional 720,587 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 99.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 958,641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,306,000 after buying an additional 478,676 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the third quarter valued at about $11,732,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $44.11 on Thursday. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $27.30 and a twelve month high of $46.72. The stock has a market cap of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.87 and a 200 day moving average of $38.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.19). Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 16.01%. The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 172,437 shares of company stock worth $7,242,432. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SYF has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.74.

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.