Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires 194,541 Shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) by 86.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 420,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 194,541 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Horizon were worth $6,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FHN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in First Horizon by 13.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,389,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $510,782,000 after buying an additional 3,870,946 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of First Horizon by 28.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,515,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,647,000 after acquiring an additional 3,470,346 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in First Horizon by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 14,370,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,558,129 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in First Horizon by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 14,025,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,187,000 after acquiring an additional 692,100 shares during the period. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP lifted its holdings in First Horizon by 18.2% during the second quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 10,200,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Horizon Stock Performance

First Horizon stock opened at $20.93 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.86. First Horizon Co. has a twelve month low of $11.87 and a twelve month high of $21.01.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $821.63 million. First Horizon had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 15.43%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Horizon Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.48%.

First Horizon announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, October 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FHN. Robert W. Baird set a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price target on First Horizon from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush lowered First Horizon from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on First Horizon from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,278,937.02. This represents a 16.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total transaction of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 166,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

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.