Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Has $50,000 Position in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 93.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,559 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 138.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 230.5% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Synchrony Financial by 76.2% during the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $5,557,556.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $5,557,556.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SYF opened at $41.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Synchrony Financial has a 1-year low of $26.59 and a 1-year high of $43.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.22 and its 200-day moving average is $36.35.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.10. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 17.37% and a net margin of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.31%.

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.