Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $6.69 Million in Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 130,524 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $6,687,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Synovus Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake 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 worth $616,892,000 after buying an additional 415,201 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,109,856 shares of the bank's stock valued at $261,778,000 after purchasing an additional 117,242 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Synovus Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,209,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Synovus Financial by 349.4% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 529,147 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,108,000 after purchasing an additional 411,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Synovus Financial by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 467,825 shares of the bank's stock valued at $23,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,784 shares in the last quarter. 83.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synovus Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

SNV stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.27. 55,287 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,412,042. Synovus Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $35.74 and a 12-month high of $59.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

Synovus Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Synovus Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Synovus Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SNV has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Raymond James downgraded shares of Synovus Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Synovus Financial from $64.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Synovus Financial from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synovus Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.17.

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.