Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 51,854 Shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 221,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,854 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in First Horizon were worth $4,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in First Horizon by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 37,131,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,822,000 after acquiring an additional 7,715,191 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First Horizon during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $132,418,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in First Horizon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,467,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in First Horizon by 160.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,524,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,270,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in shares of First Horizon by 255.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,733,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,104,000 after buying an additional 2,683,746 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on First Horizon from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James cut their price target on First Horizon from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Baird R W upgraded First Horizon from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of First Horizon from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of First Horizon in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 109,980 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.13, for a total value of $2,323,877.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,861,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,330,980.53. The trade was a 5.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

First Horizon Stock Down 6.4 %

Shares of NYSE:FHN opened at $16.92 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.82 and its 200-day moving average is $19.45. First Horizon Co. has a 1 year low of $13.72 and a 1 year high of $22.44. The company has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First Horizon Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. First Horizon’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

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.