American Century Companies Inc. Raises Position in Synchrony Financial $SYF

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,189,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 142,482 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.32% of Synchrony Financial worth $79,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 56.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 133,780 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,020,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,711,000 after buying an additional 50,162 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter worth $397,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,236,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $175,294,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Synchrony Financial stock opened at $77.02 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.60. Synchrony Financial has a twelve month low of $40.54 and a twelve month high of $77.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $27.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.51.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.64. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 22.96% and a net margin of 15.84%.The company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. Synchrony Financial’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy 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.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Darrell Owens sold 2,989 shares of the firm’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 $221,245.78. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 16,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,425.92. This trade represents a 15.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 12,086 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 108,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,219.42. This represents a 10.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 55,075 shares of company stock valued at $4,036,892. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $78.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.38.

About Synchrony Financial

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.