Rafferty Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Truist Financial Corporation $TFC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Truist Financial Corporation by 30.1% during Q1, owning 736,954 shares valued at $30.33 million.
• Insider Bradley D. Bender sold 12,540 shares of Truist at an average price of $45.19, significantly reducing their ownership by 96.17%.
• Truist Financial reported a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 8.69%, with earnings per share falling short of analyst expectations by $0.02.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC - Free Report) by 30.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 736,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 317,044 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Truist Financial worth $30,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Navigoe LLC acquired a new position in Truist Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Centennial Bank AR boosted its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 360.2% in the first quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 741 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Motco increased its stake in shares of Truist Financial by 435.6% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 798 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Truist Financial by 115.3% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 874 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC increased its stake in shares of Truist Financial by 64.4% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 899 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. 71.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradley D. Bender sold 12,540 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider owned 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,595. This represents a 96.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Truist Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TFC traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $46.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,362,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,497,459. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.32 and a 200-day moving average of $41.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $60.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.87. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The insurance provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.04 billion. Truist Financial had a net margin of 16.82% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 406.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Truist Financial Corporation will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Truist Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Truist Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TFC shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Truist Financial in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup raised shares of Truist Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $55.00 in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Truist Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.47.

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.