Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Truist Financial Corporation $TFC

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE:TFC) by 385.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 555,652 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 441,184 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Truist Financial were worth $25,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TFC. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Truist Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in Truist Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new stake in Truist Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Maseco LLP grew its holdings in Truist Financial by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Maseco LLP now owns 652 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Truist Financial by 190.7% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 657 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Truist Financial news, Director K. David Jr. Boyer sold 3,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.70, for a total value of $202,090.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $520,689. This trade represents a 27.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO William H. Rogers, Jr. sold 13,250 shares of Truist Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.36, for a total transaction of $693,770.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Truist Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TFC opened at $53.02 on Wednesday. Truist Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $40.78 and a fifty-two week high of $56.19. The company has a market cap of $66.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.58.

Truist Financial (NYSE:TFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 17th. The insurance provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $5.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.24 billion. Truist Financial had a net margin of 19.13% and a return on equity of 10.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Truist Financial Corporation will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Truist Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Truist Financial’s payout ratio is currently 47.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on TFC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Truist Financial from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Truist Financial from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. UBS Group downgraded Truist Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $58.00 to $55.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Stephens reduced their price target on Truist Financial from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $56.00 price target (up from $54.00) on shares of Truist Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Truist Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.61.

Truist Financial 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.