New York State Teachers Retirement System Trims Position in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 579,296 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,542 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.11% of First Horizon worth $11,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of First Horizon by 160.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in First Horizon during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 44.0% during 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 bought a new position in First Horizon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 109,980 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total transaction of $2,323,877.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,861,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,330,980.53. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

First Horizon Stock Down 3.2 %

FHN traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,457,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,630,449. First Horizon Co. has a 1 year low of $13.72 and a 1 year high of $22.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's 50-day moving average is $21.04 and its 200-day moving average is $18.64.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 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 earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First Horizon Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, October 29th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on First Horizon from $18.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.04.

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.