Arizona State Retirement System Increases Stake in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNVFree Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,147 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Synovus Financial were worth $1,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SNV. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Synovus Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $55,365,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Synovus Financial in the first quarter valued at $20,823,000. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,413,846 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,293,000 after purchasing an additional 380,822 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Synovus Financial by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,574,156 shares of the bank’s stock worth $134,210,000 after buying an additional 329,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Synovus Financial by 78.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 720,573 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,308,000 after buying an additional 317,619 shares during the last quarter. 78.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SNV shares. StockNews.com downgraded Synovus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 4th. 888 restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on Synovus Financial from $31.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 25th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Synovus Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Synovus Financial from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synovus Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synovus Financial

In related news, CFO Andrew J. Jr. Gregory bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.33 per share, for a total transaction of $60,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $873,776.97. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Synovus Financial news, CEO Kevin S. Blair purchased 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.30 per share, for a total transaction of $120,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 86,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,286,495.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew J. Jr. Gregory purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $30.33 per share, for a total transaction of $60,660.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $873,776.97. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 11,375 shares of company stock worth $309,411 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Synovus Financial Stock Performance

SNV stock opened at $32.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.52. The company has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.29, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.35. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $25.19 and a 1-year high of $44.91.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNVGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 19th. The bank reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $613.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $589.40 million. Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 28.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. Synovus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.46%.

Synovus Financial Profile

(Free Report)

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 loans.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV)

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