Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $15.50 Million Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB increased its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 24.4% during Q1, owning approximately 0.08% of the company, valued at $15.5 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly boosted their stakes in Synchrony Financial, with increases ranging from 355.9% to 1,107.4% among various entities.
• Synchrony Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.65%, with the payout scheduled for August 15.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 24.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 292,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 57,500 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned approximately 0.08% of Synchrony Financial worth $15,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SYF. Stevens Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 107.5% during the 1st quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 10,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 5,690 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 129.5% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $161,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,721,891 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 58,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Synchrony Financial by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,161 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, One Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 54.0% in the first quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 2,994 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 40,639 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.07, for a total value of $2,441,184.73. Following the transaction, the insider owned 146,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,807,943.96. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 11,380 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $739,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,062 shares in the company, valued at $7,024,030. This trade represents a 9.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Synchrony Financial from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Synchrony Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Synchrony Financial from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.17.

Synchrony Financial Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE SYF traded down $0.46 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 597,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,128,320. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 8.60, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.10. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $40.54 and a 1-year high of $73.76.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.78. Synchrony Financial had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 21.34%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial's dividend payout ratio is 14.56%.

Synchrony Financial Company 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.