American Century Companies Inc. Has $66.91 Million Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,029,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 129,532 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.26% of Synchrony Financial worth $66,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 1.3% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 37,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Synchrony Financial by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 57,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,891,000 after buying an additional 4,417 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 5.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 203,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,175,000 after acquiring an additional 9,671 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 40.2% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 129,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,456,000 after acquiring an additional 37,101 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $550,000. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of SYF stock opened at $55.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $21.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.54, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.03 and a 200-day moving average of $60.47. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $39.67 and a 12-month high of $70.93.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.02. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 15.36%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SYF has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $59.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised Synchrony Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.10.

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.