Erste Asset Management GmbH Cuts Stock Holdings in Truist Financial Corporation $TFC

Erste Asset Management GmbH lessened its holdings in Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC) by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 21,237 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Truist Financial were worth $466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TFC. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Truist Financial by 71.5% during the second quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Truist Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Truist Financial by 1,189.5% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 735 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Truist Financial by 631.6% during the 3rd quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Truist Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 71.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Truist Financial Trading Down 4.3%

TFC stock opened at $49.26 on Monday. Truist Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $33.56 and a 12-month high of $56.19. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.21 and its 200 day moving average is $47.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $61.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.87.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.09). Truist Financial had a return on equity of 9.03% and a net margin of 17.09%.The firm had revenue of $4.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Truist Financial Corporation will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 16th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 15.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michael Baron Maguire sold 13,000 shares of Truist Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.13, for a total transaction of $651,690.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 74,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,725,811.99. The trade was a 14.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Cynthia B. Powell sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.49, for a total value of $183,715.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,010.83. This trade represents a 83.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on TFC. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Truist Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Truist Financial from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Truist Financial from $51.50 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Truist Financial from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Truist Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.47.

About Truist Financial

Truist Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company that provides a broad range of financial services through its primary subsidiary, Truist Bank, and other operating units. The company offers traditional retail banking products and services such as deposit accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, and credit and debit card services. Truist also serves commercial clients with middle-market and corporate lending, treasury and payment solutions, and specialty finance products.

Beyond core banking, Truist operates wealth management, asset management, insurance and capital markets businesses.