Sterling Investment Management LLC Makes New $923,000 Investment in Truist Financial Corporation $TFC

Sterling Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $923,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Truist Financial by 148.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 23,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 14,093 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 291,214 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,983,000 after buying an additional 17,830 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Truist Financial by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 331,468 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,640,000 after buying an additional 11,572 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Truist Financial by 13.9% in the first quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 6,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Truist Financial during the first quarter valued at about $116,000. 71.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Truist Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TFC opened at $49.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.90. Truist Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.56 and a 1-year high of $50.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.24.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The insurance provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.05. Truist Financial had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Truist Financial Corporation will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Truist Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 55.91%.

Truist Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, December 16th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 15.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $55.00 price target on shares of Truist Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Truist Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Truist Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.93.

Insider Activity at Truist Financial

In other news, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 5,160 shares of Truist Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total transaction of $239,682.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,606.85. The trade was a 33.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

About Truist Financial

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.