American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Holdings in Synchrony Financial $SYF

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 1.8%, acquiring an additional 18,016 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1,047,453 shares valued at $55,452,000.
• Multiple hedge funds reported changes to their positions in Synchrony Financial, with significant increases from firms such as Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC which raised its stake by 416.9% during the same quarter.
• Synchrony Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, yielding 1.7%, with a payout ratio of 14.56% as of the last reporting period.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,047,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,016 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Synchrony Financial worth $55,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 30.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 73,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,895,000 after purchasing an additional 17,061 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $11,506,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,485,000 after acquiring an additional 13,526 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Synchrony Financial by 70.2% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 10,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 4,397 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.5% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 236,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,765 shares during the period. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 8,514 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $595,980.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 68,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,801,160. The trade was a 11.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Darrell Owens sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.95, for a total transaction of $40,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 21,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,452,227.40. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,494 shares of company stock worth $1,376,450 over the last 90 days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF traded up $0.2570 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $73.4570. The stock had a trading volume of 349,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,026,294. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $27.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.01 and a 200-day moving average of $60.34. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $40.54 and a fifty-two week high of $74.11.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.78. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.71 billion. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. Synchrony Financial's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. Synchrony Financial has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Synchrony Financial's payout ratio is presently 14.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Friday, August 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.05.

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.