First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its position in shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 510,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,416 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in First Horizon were worth $10,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in First Horizon by 365.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of 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. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in First Horizon in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in First Horizon by 335.6% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on First Horizon from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on First Horizon from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 price target on First Horizon in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.04.

Insider Transactions at First Horizon

In other First Horizon news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total value of $1,996,255.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,278,937.02. The trade was a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 109,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total transaction of $2,323,877.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,861,381 shares in the company, valued at $39,330,980.53. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 220,954 shares of company stock worth $4,519,333. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Horizon Price Performance

Shares of FHN stock opened at $21.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.16. First Horizon Co. has a 12 month low of $13.45 and a 12 month high of $22.10.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. Analysts predict that First Horizon Co. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.12%.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 29th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.