Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 26,050 Shares of Synchrony Financial $SYF

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,050 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $7,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 8.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 35,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,884,000 after buying an additional 9,460 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 6,406 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 337.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 56.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 2,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $76.56 on Monday. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $88.77. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $27.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.60.

Synchrony Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, October 15th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 32,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.80, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 127,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,252,880. The trade was a 20.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,219.42. The trade was a 10.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 55,075 shares of company stock worth $4,036,892 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SYF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. HSBC raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $81.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.47.

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.