Synovus Financial Corp. $SNV Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Synovus Financial Corp. by 12.7%, selling 622,959 shares to hold approximately 4.28 million shares, valued at $200 million.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other analysts have raised their price targets for Synovus Financial, with JPMorgan increasing it from $50.00 to $60.00, while maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Synovus Financial recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.39 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of approximately 29.94%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its position in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,279,477 shares of the bank's stock after selling 622,959 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 3.08% of Synovus Financial worth $200,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 50.9% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,879 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 8,059 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Synovus Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $251,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 32.8% during the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 23,132 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 5,717 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synovus Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on SNV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synovus Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Synovus Financial from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diana M. Murphy bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.80 per share, with a total value of $48,800.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 40,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,960,344.80. This represents a 2.55% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory G. Montana bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.74 per share, with a total value of $46,740.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,898.34. This trade represents a 29.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 8,040 shares of company stock worth $392,916. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Synovus Financial Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:SNV opened at $49.68 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.60. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $35.94 and a 1-year high of $61.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.23. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 21.52% and a return on equity of 16.20%. The firm had revenue of $592.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $584.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, June 19th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Synovus Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.94%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SNV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.