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

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 93.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Live Oak Investment Partners acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Synchrony Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 138.8% during the 1st 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 stake in Synchrony Financial by 230.5% during the 1st 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 stake in Synchrony Financial by 76.2% during the 1st 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.48% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.9 %

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $41.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.61. Synchrony Financial has a fifty-two week low of $26.59 and a fifty-two week high of $43.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

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

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider David P. Melito sold 7,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.99, for a total value of $283,964.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,183 shares in the company, valued at $552,995.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SYF shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Synchrony Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synchrony Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.44.

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.