South Dakota Investment Council Sells 3,700 Shares of Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC)

South Dakota Investment Council reduced its position in shares of Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 296,985 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,700 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Truist Financial were worth $12,883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Truist Financial by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 61,864,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,645,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,720,223 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Truist Financial by 96.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,031,893 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $88,144,000 after purchasing an additional 999,763 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Truist Financial by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,901,891 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $166,892,000 after purchasing an additional 807,648 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Truist Financial by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,630,761 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $155,288,000 after purchasing an additional 630,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new position in Truist Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,087,000. 71.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Truist Financial Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:TFC opened at $45.67 on Friday. Truist Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $34.26 and a 12 month high of $49.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $60.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.08.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The firm 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Truist Financial Co. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO William H. Rogers, Jr. bought 34,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $1,659,780.80. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 4,966 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $229,429.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,246 shares in the company, valued at $519,565.20. This trade represents a 30.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on TFC shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. HSBC upgraded shares of Truist Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Stephens increased their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Truist Financial currently has an average 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.