Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in Truist Financial by 12.5%, now holding 62,404 shares worth approximately $2.57 million.
• Truist Financial reported a missed EPS of $0.91 for the last quarter, falling short of analysts' estimates by $0.02, with a revenue decline of 406% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52, representing an annualized yield of 4.8%, with a payout ratio of 56.68%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC - Free Report) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,404 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 8,878 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Truist Financial were worth $2,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TFC. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Truist Financial by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 90,617,519 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,930,983,000 after buying an additional 18,712,246 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Truist Financial by 922.9% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,664,320 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $274,237,000 after buying an additional 6,012,817 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Truist Financial by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,434,173 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $626,154,000 after buying an additional 2,452,239 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Truist Financial by 610.8% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,661,895 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $109,537,000 after buying an additional 2,287,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in Truist Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $90,247,000. 71.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on TFC shares. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Truist Financial in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Truist Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Argus set a $43.00 price objective on shares of Truist Financial in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $51.00 to $47.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Six 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Truist Financial presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.65.

Truist Financial Stock Performance

Shares of TFC stock traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $42.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,693,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,608,531. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.86 and a 200 day moving average of $41.94. The stock has a market cap of $55.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.87. 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 announced 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). The firm had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.04 billion. Truist Financial had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 16.82%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 406.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Truist Financial Corporation 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 Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Truist Financial's dividend payout ratio is 56.68%.

Insider Activity at Truist Financial

In other news, insider Bradley D. Bender sold 12,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.19, for a total value of $566,682.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $22,595. This represents a 96.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.