Blue Trust Inc. Sells 16,762 Shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its position in shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) by 76.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,762 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in First Horizon were worth $104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in First Horizon by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 948,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,724,000 after acquiring an additional 285,108 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Horizon by 13.1% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,482,000 after acquiring an additional 100,359 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its stake in First Horizon by 128.4% during the third quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 52,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 29,581 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in First Horizon during the fourth quarter worth about $453,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

First Horizon Price Performance

First Horizon stock opened at $20.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. First Horizon Co. has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $22.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on First Horizon from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on First Horizon from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James increased 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of First Horizon from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 109,980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total value of $2,323,877.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,861,381 shares in the company, valued at $39,330,980.53. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Horizon Profile

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.