First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) Position Boosted by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN - Free Report) by 552.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 273,693 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 231,773 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of First Horizon worth $4,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FHN. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in First Horizon during the second quarter valued at $103,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in First Horizon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $187,000. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 36,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 9,571 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in First Horizon by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 113,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 1,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in First Horizon by 894.2% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 509,411 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,033,000 after buying an additional 458,173 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.28% of the company's stock.

First Horizon Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of First Horizon stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $20.35. 1,470,406 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,575,184. First Horizon Co. has a 52-week low of $12.95 and a 52-week high of $21.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.42 and a 200-day moving average of $17.00. 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 $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.63 million. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Horizon Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. First Horizon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.48%.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 29th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FHN. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $18.50 to $23.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush lowered First Horizon from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 166,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total transaction of $1,996,255.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 519,926 shares in the company, valued at $10,278,937.02. The trade was a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Horizon Company 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.