Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 3,564 Shares of Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) by 31.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,564 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Truist Financial were worth $550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Truist Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 12,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $479,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its position in Truist Financial by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 4,345 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Day & Ennis LLC lifted its position in Truist Financial by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 7,525 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 21,928 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $810,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 1,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. 71.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Compass Point raised Truist Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $34.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. HSBC increased their price target on Truist Financial from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Truist Financial from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Truist Financial from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Truist Financial from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.88.

Truist Financial Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of TFC stock opened at $39.11 on Wednesday. Truist Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $26.49 and a 52-week high of $40.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.20 billion, a PE ratio of -29.63, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.39.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. Truist Financial’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Truist Financial Co. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.32%. Truist Financial’s payout ratio is -157.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 3,764 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.48, for a total transaction of $141,074.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,132 shares in the company, valued at $604,627.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Truist Financial Company Profile

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.