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

Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its position in Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC) by 67.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 21,237 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Truist Financial were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leisure Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Leisure Capital Management now owns 19,985 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC increased its position in Truist Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 5,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC raised its stake in Truist Financial by 4.4% during the third quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 5,507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in Truist Financial by 6.8% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,730 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Truist Financial by 1.1% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 21,934 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.28% of the company’s stock.

Truist Financial Price Performance

TFC opened at $49.26 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.21 and a 200 day moving average of $47.58. The stock has a market cap of $61.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Truist Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $33.56 and a 52-week high of $56.19.

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

Truist Financial announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, December 16th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 15.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Truist Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Truist Financial

In other Truist Financial news, CAO Cynthia B. Powell sold 3,500 shares of Truist Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.49, for a total transaction of $183,715.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,010.83. The trade was a 83.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Baron Maguire sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.13, for a total value of $651,690.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 74,323 shares in the company, valued at $3,725,811.99. The trade was a 14.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Truist Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $69.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Truist Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Truist Financial from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Truist Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Truist Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Truist Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.47.

Truist Financial Profile

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.