First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Acquires 14,696 Shares of Synovus Financial Corp. $SNV

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 63.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,828 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,696 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Synovus Financial were worth $1,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 4.9% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 0.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 0.9% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 33,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 17.0% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,118 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 5.2% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 6,425 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. 83.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synovus Financial Price Performance

Shares of SNV stock opened at $45.41 on Friday. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $35.94 and a 1 year high of $61.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $49.34 and its 200-day moving average is $48.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The bank reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.10. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 21.97% and a return on equity of 16.13%. The company had revenue of $612.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $604.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Synovus Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 18th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 18th. Synovus Financial’s payout ratio is 29.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on SNV shares. UBS Group lowered shares of Synovus Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $63.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $58.00 price target (down from $62.00) on shares of Synovus Financial in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Synovus Financial from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synovus Financial

In other Synovus Financial news, CEO Kevin S. Blair purchased 4,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $49.40 per share, with a total value of $199,576.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 164,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,120,273.20. This represents a 2.52% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Diana M. Murphy purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $48.80 per share, with a total value of $48,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 40,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,960,344.80. The trade was a 2.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 9,040 shares of company stock valued at $438,286. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.