American Century Companies Inc. Sells 239,195 Shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 972,570 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 239,195 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Synovus Financial were worth $49,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 66.2% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,586 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. purchased a new position in Synovus Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $262,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Synovus Financial by 138.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,728 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 8,549 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Synovus Financial by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 13,068 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Synovus Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $682,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SNV. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $58.00 price target on shares of Synovus Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Synovus Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Synovus Financial from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Synovus Financial in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Synovus Financial from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Synovus Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.67.

Synovus Financial Trading Down 0.6 %

Synovus Financial stock opened at $48.34 on Thursday. Synovus Financial Corp. has a one year low of $33.44 and a one year high of $59.92. The stock has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.36. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.07.

Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The bank reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.09. Synovus Financial had a net margin of 14.05% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The company had revenue of $580.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $566.83 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Synovus Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Synovus Financial Corp. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is an increase from Synovus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Synovus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.15%.

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.