Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 109,570 Shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,269,348 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 109,570 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.62% of First Horizon worth $65,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of First Horizon by 160.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 884 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of First Horizon during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of First Horizon by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Horizon in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in First Horizon by 335.6% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,596 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 109,980 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total value of $2,323,877.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,861,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,330,980.53. The trade was a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

First Horizon Stock Performance

Shares of FHN stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,457,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,984,201. 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 company has a market cap of $11.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $21.04 and a 200-day moving average of $18.64. First Horizon Co. has a 52 week low of $13.72 and a 52 week high of $22.44.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that First Horizon Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FHN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on First Horizon from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $22.50 to $23.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.