The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Holdings in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV - Free Report) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,003,402 shares of the bank's stock after selling 88,842 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.71% of Synovus Financial worth $51,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Synovus Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,209,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,041,625 shares of the bank's stock valued at $616,892,000 after acquiring an additional 415,201 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 349.4% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 529,147 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,108,000 after purchasing an additional 411,411 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Synovus Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $14,991,000. Finally, TruWealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Synovus Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,350,000. 83.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on SNV shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $52.00 to $46.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson cut their target price on Synovus Financial from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Synovus Financial from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Synovus Financial from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Eight investment 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.17.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Synovus Financial stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $45.15. 137,749 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,406,474. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $35.81 and a 52-week high of $59.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.13.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $573.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.35 million. Synovus Financial had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 14.05%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This is an increase from Synovus Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Synovus Financial's payout ratio is currently 43.70%.

Synovus Financial Company Profile

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.