Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 72.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,413,153 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,696,703 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.00% of Synovus Financial worth $66,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 51,606 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,412,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 0.9% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 33,804 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial by 5.2% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,425 shares of the bank’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,628 shares of the bank’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Synovus Financial by 2.4% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 15,665 shares of the bank’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.85% of the company’s stock.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SNV opened at $49.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.21. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $35.94 and a 12 month high of $61.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The bank reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $584.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Analysts expect that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 19th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Synovus Financial’s payout ratio is currently 29.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diana M. Murphy purchased 1,000 shares of Synovus Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.80 per share, for a total transaction of $48,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 40,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,960,344.80. The trade was a 2.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin S. Blair acquired 4,040 shares of Synovus Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $49.40 per share, for a total transaction of $199,576.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 164,378 shares in the company, valued at $8,120,273.20. This trade represents a 2.52% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 8,040 shares of company stock worth $392,916 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on SNV shares. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Synovus Financial from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $58.00 price target (down previously from $62.00) on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Synovus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Synovus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synovus Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.94.

Synovus Financial 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.