First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,269,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 109,570 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in First Horizon were worth $65,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in First Horizon by 160.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of First Horizon by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in First Horizon in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in First Horizon by 335.6% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on FHN. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of First Horizon from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James boosted their price target on First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Horizon has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.04.

Insider Activity at First Horizon

In other news, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 109,980 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total value of $2,323,877.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,861,381 shares in the company, valued at $39,330,980.53. This represents a 5.58 % 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. 0.87% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Horizon Stock Performance

Shares of FHN stock opened at $22.18 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.92. First Horizon Co. has a 12-month low of $13.72 and a 12-month high of $22.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $21.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.38% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. Analysts expect that First Horizon Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. First Horizon’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

First Horizon declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 29th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About First Horizon

First Horizon Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Horizon Bank that provides various financial services. The company operates through Regional Banking and Specialty Banking segments. It offers general banking services for consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments.