American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 129,532 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

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

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $452,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 119.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 243,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,123,000 after acquiring an additional 132,047 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 178,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,787,000 after acquiring an additional 12,492 shares in the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $544,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Synchrony Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $423,000. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SYF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Synchrony Financial from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $77.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.10.

Synchrony Financial Stock Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $55.85 on Wednesday. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $39.67 and a 1-year high of $70.93. The firm has a market cap of $21.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.03 and a 200-day moving average of $60.47.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.91 earnings per share 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 expect that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.71%.

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.