Meritage Portfolio Management Buys 143,866 Shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)

Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN - Free Report) by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 515,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 143,866 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management owned approximately 0.10% of First Horizon worth $8,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FHN. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Horizon by 24.2% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 33,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Horizon by 48.9% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 116,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,796,000 after buying an additional 38,295 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in First Horizon in the first quarter worth approximately $106,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in First Horizon by 57.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 426,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,573,000 after acquiring an additional 155,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in First Horizon by 741.9% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 33,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 29,307 shares during the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Horizon Stock Performance

First Horizon stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $19.69. The stock had a trading volume of 7,645,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,276,455. First Horizon Co. has a fifty-two week low of $10.96 and a fifty-two week high of $20.11. The company has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $821.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Horizon Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. First Horizon's payout ratio is 43.48%.

Insider Transactions at First Horizon

In other news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total value of $1,996,255.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 519,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,278,937.02. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their target price on First Horizon from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on First Horizon from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stephens raised their price objective on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded First Horizon from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.38.

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.