Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,992,285 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 58,931 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.88% of Synovus Financial worth $716,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Synovus Financial by 138.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,728 shares of the bank’s stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 8,549 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,068 shares of the bank’s stock worth $581,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 980.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 58,558 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,604,000 after acquiring an additional 53,140 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Synovus Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,523,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Synovus Financial by 2.5% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 29,509 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SNV shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of Synovus Financial in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Synovus Financial from $60.50 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Synovus Financial from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Synovus Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.67.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of SNV stock opened at $46.12 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $51.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.17. The firm has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.36. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $33.44 and a 1-year high of $59.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The bank reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.09. Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 14.05%. The firm had revenue of $580.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $566.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. Synovus Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Synovus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Synovus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.15%.

About Synovus Financial

Synovus Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Synovus Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. It operates through four segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, Consumer Banking, and Financial Management Services. The company's commercial banking services include treasury and asset management, capital market, and institutional trust services, as well as commercial, financial, and real estate lending services.