Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) Shares Purchased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 748,240 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,645 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Truist Financial were worth $27,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in TFC. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 4,345 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Truist Financial by 81.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 29,958 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 13,462 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Truist Financial by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 208,437 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,695,000 after buying an additional 1,452 shares during the period. Searle & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Truist Financial in the fourth quarter worth $319,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Truist Financial by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 15,517 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the period. 71.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Truist Financial Stock Performance

TFC opened at $38.85 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.16 and a 200-day moving average of $35.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Truist Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $25.56 and a 1-year high of $39.29.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.12. Truist Financial had a positive return on equity of 9.15% and a negative net margin of 4.28%. The firm had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. Truist Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Truist Financial Co. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Truist Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently -157.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Truist Financial news, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 3,764 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.48, for a total transaction of $141,074.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $604,627.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Truist Financial from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. TheStreet downgraded Truist Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $43.00 target price on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised Truist Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.88.

About Truist Financial

Truist Financial Corporation, a financial services company, provides banking and trust services in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. The company operates through three segments: Consumer Banking and Wealth, Corporate and Commercial Banking, and Insurance Holdings. Its deposit products include noninterest-bearing checking, interest-bearing checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts.