Empower Advisory Group LLC Grows Stake in Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC significantly increased its stake in Truist Financial Corporation by 319.8% during the first quarter, owning a total of 29,143 shares worth approximately $1.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors also expanded their positions in Truist Financial, with notable increases from Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec and Comerica Bank, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Truist Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $2.08 with a yield of 4.8%, and reported second quarter earnings of $0.91 EPS, missing estimates.

Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC - Free Report) by 319.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,143 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,201 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Truist Financial were worth $1,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Truist Financial by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 449,484 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,499,000 after purchasing an additional 15,499 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Truist Financial by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,108,466 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,085,000 after acquiring an additional 498,531 shares in the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC purchased a new position in Truist Financial in the first quarter worth $365,000. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. grew its position in Truist Financial by 4.6% in the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 435,650 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $17,927,000 after acquiring an additional 19,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Truist Financial by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,242,763 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $97,291,000 after acquiring an additional 60,848 shares in the last quarter. 71.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Truist Financial

In other Truist Financial news, insider Bradley D. Bender sold 12,540 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total transaction of $566,682.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,595. This trade represents a 96.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TFC has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Truist Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Truist Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Truist Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $51.00 to $47.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Truist Financial in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Truist Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.65.

Truist Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TFC opened at $43.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $55.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Truist Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $33.56 and a 12 month high of $49.06.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.02). Truist Financial had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 16.82%. The company had revenue of $5.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Truist Financial's quarterly revenue was down 406.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Truist Financial Corporation will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Truist Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Truist Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.68%.

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.

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