Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $69.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $56.00.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on TFC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Truist Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Truist Financial from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Argus lifted their price objective on Truist Financial from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Truist Financial from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Finally, UBS Group set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Truist Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.47.

Truist Financial Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE:TFC opened at $51.76 on Tuesday. Truist Financial has a 12 month low of $33.56 and a 12 month high of $56.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.14 and its 200-day moving average is $47.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $66.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.89.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.09). Truist Financial had a net margin of 17.09% and a return on equity of 9.03%. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Truist Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Truist Financial will post 4 EPS for the current year.

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

Truist Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Truist Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.59%.

Insider Transactions at Truist Financial

In related news, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 5,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.45, for a total value of $239,682.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,153 shares in the company, valued at $471,606.85. This trade represents a 33.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Baron Maguire sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.13, for a total value of $651,690.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 74,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,725,811.99. This represents a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 21,660 shares of company stock valued at $1,075,087 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Truist Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Truist Financial by 148.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 23,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 14,093 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Truist Financial by 39.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 111,177 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,575,000 after acquiring an additional 31,454 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Truist Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $575,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Truist Financial by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 2,122 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Truist Financial by 6.2% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 113,812 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,907,000 after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.28% of the company’s stock.

Truist Financial Company Profile

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.