Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) Stock Position Cut by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 73,895 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,578 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Truist Financial were worth $3,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in Truist Financial by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Truist Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Truist Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 376.7% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 858 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Truist Financial during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. 71.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Truist Financial Price Performance

NYSE TFC opened at $47.59 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.43. Truist Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $34.26 and a 52-week high of $49.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Truist Financial had a net margin of 15.59% and a return on equity of 9.32%. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Truist Financial Co. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial’s payout ratio is currently 62.46%.

Insider Transactions at Truist Financial

In other Truist Financial news, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 4,966 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total transaction of $229,429.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $519,565.20. This represents a 30.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO William H. Rogers, Jr. purchased 34,180 shares of Truist Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $1,659,780.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,576,860.56. The trade was a 5.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on TFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Truist Financial from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $54.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Truist Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Truist Financial from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Truist Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.79.

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.