Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) Stock Holdings Lessened by Shell Asset Management Co.

Shell Asset Management Co. cut its stake in shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,839 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 437 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Synovus Financial were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $7,115,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 24.5% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 328,604 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,233,000 after purchasing an additional 64,621 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in Synovus Financial by 346.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 570,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,494,000 after purchasing an additional 443,056 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 104.6% during the 4th quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 46,901 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 23,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $968,000. 83.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on SNV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Synovus Financial from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised Synovus Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Synovus Financial from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Synovus Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Eli Samaha sold 6,803 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.22, for a total value of $171,571.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,466,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,984,953.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Eli Samaha sold 6,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.22, for a total transaction of $171,571.66. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,466,493 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,984,953.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP D Wayne Akins, Jr. acquired 24,500 shares of Synovus Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $37.40 per share, with a total value of $916,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 41,884 shares in the company, valued at $1,566,461.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 179,712 shares of company stock worth $4,528,878 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Synovus Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SNV traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.94. 167,159 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,427,981. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.47. The company has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.40. Synovus Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $24.40 and a twelve month high of $47.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.20. Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 8.40%. The firm had revenue of $563.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $543.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 20th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Synovus Financial’s payout ratio is presently 52.05%.

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.