Empowered Funds LLC Reduces Stake in Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC)

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its stake in shares of Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) by 48.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,977 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 95,181 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Truist Financial were worth $4,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TFC. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Truist Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 155,289 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,736,000 after acquiring an additional 947 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,502 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,364,000 after purchasing an additional 5,345 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. raised its position in shares of Truist Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 416,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,062,000 after buying an additional 3,735 shares in the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Truist Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 10,477 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Truist Financial by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 28,912 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. 71.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Truist Financial Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Truist Financial stock opened at $47.36 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.28. Truist Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $34.23 and a 52-week high of $49.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.08.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.05 billion. Truist Financial had a net margin of 15.59% and a return on equity of 9.32%. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Truist Financial Co. will post 3.98 EPS for the current year.

Truist Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.46%.

Insider Transactions at Truist Financial

In related news, CEO William H. Rogers, Jr. acquired 34,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $1,659,780.80. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 691,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,576,860.56. This represents a 5.20 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 4,966 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.20, for a total value of $229,429.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,246 shares in the company, valued at $519,565.20. This trade represents a 30.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on TFC. Citigroup raised their price target on Truist Financial from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Truist Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Truist Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Truist Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.