American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 58,318 Shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,036,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,318 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.26% of Synchrony Financial worth $48,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 15.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 35,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Certuity LLC increased its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 31,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 90,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,896,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Synchrony Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 34,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of SYF opened at $47.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.79, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $27.30 and a 1-year high of $52.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $48.28 and a 200 day moving average of $45.11.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s payout ratio is 14.35%.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,510,987.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SYF. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Synchrony Financial from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, BTIG Research downgraded shares of Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.41.

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.