Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Reduces Stock Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 408,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 339 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $20,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total value of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of SYF traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.15. 2,172,590 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,957,033. Synchrony Financial has a 12 month low of $27.30 and a 12 month high of $53.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $48.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.15. The company has a market capitalization of $21.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.61.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 13.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SYF. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Baird R W raised Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.43.

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.