Truist Financial Co. (NYSE:TFC) has experienced some significant moves recently, according to various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in Truist Financial by 4.4% during the fourth quarter of the previous year, resulting in an increase of 10,225 shares and bringing their total holdings to 243,177 shares worth $10,464,000.
Simultaneously, in early March of this year, Director David M. Ratcliffe bought a total of 13,125 shares of the company’s stock at an average price of $38.08 per share which totaled to $499,800. This move increased his holdings up to 39,025 shares that were valued approximately at $1,486,072 on filing the SEC document.
While insiders purchased more shares through buying transactions worth millions two months ago and prior to it as well; an insider named Hugh S. Cummins III sold over 35k shares for over $1 million. The disclosure was filed with SEC and revealed that approximately 0.31% of Truist Financial stocks are owned by corporate insiders.
Shares of Truist Financial started trading on Tuesday at $33.13 amid a high degree of uncertainty as the company seeks ways to mitigate against the adverse economic impacts brought about by pandemic crisis effects globally alongside a record low-interest rate environment in which most financial institutions currently operate.
The company is said to have hit its lowest point over the past year last week when stocks bottomed out at a mere $28.70 as investor confidence ebbed due to macroeconomic factors like inflation concerns potentiated by recent government stimulus packages.
Truist Financial management team declared earlier this year that they were committed to implementing measures that could bolster shareholder value as well as financial market positionality; however given unprecedented challenges facing this industry such as COVID-19 pandemic consequences continue ravaging both consumer and business demand, it remains unclear what the future holds for Truist Financial Co.
Institutional Investors and Hedge Funds Flock to Truist Financial (TFC) as Performance Uncertainty Persists
Truist Financial (TFC) has recently attracted a number of institutional investors and hedge funds, with 72.49% of the stock currently owned by such entities. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in the insurance provider’s stock by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, now owning 37,649 shares worth $1.6 million. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC purchased a new stake valued at $3.5 million while Verum Partners LLC made a new purchase valued at $500,000. Greenleaf Trust raised its own position by 15.3% and Bard Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings by 5.2%.
Several brokerages have released reports on TFC’s performance over recent months, with Royal Bank of Canada lowering their target price for the stock from $60 to $54 while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Truist Financial from ‘underperform’ to ‘market perform’. Citigroup also lifted their rating to ‘buy’ with a target price of $52 for the company while Goldman Sachs Group downgraded TFC from ‘buy’ to ‘sell’, setting a target price of just $39.
In other news, director David M Ratcliffe purchased 13,125 shares in Truist Financial earlier this year in a transaction worth almost half a million dollars. Corporate insider Hugh S Cummins III sold over 35,000 shares of TFC stock in late January.
Truist Financial reported earnings results for Q4 last year totalling $1.30 EPS and revenue barely outstripping estimates at $6.21 billion for the quarter – figures marginally increasing investor confidence heading into the current fiscal year.
The company announced last month that it would pay quarterly dividends to shareholders totaling an annualized dividend yield of 6.28%. As such various market analysts have rated Truist Financial as ‘Hold’, anticipating EPS of $4.82 for the current fiscal year.
