Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF - Free Report) by 93.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,559 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SYF. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,251 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 30.3% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,337 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 7,753 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 69,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 101,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in Synchrony Financial by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 962,162 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,493,000 after purchasing an additional 8,110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Synchrony Financial from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Piper Sandler upped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Synchrony Financial from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.44.

Insider Transactions at Synchrony Financial

In other news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of Synchrony Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total transaction of $264,584.78. Following the sale, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,503.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Curtis Howse sold 6,179 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.82, for a total value of $264,584.78. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 152,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,503.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian D. Doubles sold 134,696 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 660,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,246,164.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,158 shares of company stock worth $6,106,106. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.9 %

Synchrony Financial stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,493,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,879,535. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.61. The stock's fifty day moving average is $41.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.40. Synchrony Financial has a 1 year low of $26.59 and a 1 year high of $43.83. 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 (NYSE:SYF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Synchrony Financial will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

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