KBC Group NV Buys 119,237 Shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN - Free Report) by 249.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 166,961 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 119,237 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in First Horizon were worth $3,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FHN. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Horizon by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 868,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,482,000 after purchasing an additional 100,359 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of First Horizon by 128.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 52,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $817,000 after purchasing an additional 29,581 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Horizon during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $453,000. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC grew its position in shares of First Horizon by 10.1% during the third quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 465,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,229,000 after buying an additional 42,793 shares in the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Horizon

In related news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 owns 519,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,278,937.02. This trade represents a 16.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $2,323,877.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,861,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,330,980.53. This trade represents a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 220,954 shares of company stock worth $4,519,333. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Horizon Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE FHN traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.91. 6,420,411 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,506,487. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. First Horizon Co. has a 1 year low of $13.45 and a 1 year high of $22.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.06.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Horizon Co. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

First Horizon Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. First Horizon's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on FHN. UBS Group started coverage on First Horizon in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Horizon currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.04.

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.