J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires Shares of 14,174 Regions Financial Corporation $RF

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired 14,174 shares of Regions Financial Corporation in Q2, totaling approximately $333,000.
• Regions Financial recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.265, representing an annualized yield of 4.0%.
• Several research analysts have set new price targets for Regions Financial, with a consensus target of $27.89 and a majority rating of "Moderate Buy."

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 14,174 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $333,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 44,211,562 shares of the bank's stock worth $960,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562,512 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,092,742 shares of the bank's stock worth $675,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,909,162 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,990,446 shares of the bank's stock worth $456,122,000 after acquiring an additional 5,521,772 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 10,010,267 shares of the bank's stock worth $198,721,000 after acquiring an additional 1,696,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Regions Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,989,323 shares of the bank's stock worth $130,148,000 after acquiring an additional 32,082 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RF. Morgan Stanley set a $32.00 target price on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, September 29th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Regions Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.89.

Regions Financial Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Regions Financial stock opened at $26.36 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $26.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.74 and a 52-week high of $27.96. The company has a market cap of $23.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.02.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Regions Financial had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Regions Financial's payout ratio is presently 49.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of Regions Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $750,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 90,915 shares in the company, valued at $2,273,784.15. This trade represents a 24.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Roger W. Jenkins bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.48 per share, with a total value of $101,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,383 shares in the company, valued at $162,638.84. This represents a 167.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Regions Financial

Regions Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and bank-related services to individual and corporate customers. It operates through three segments: Corporate Bank, Consumer Bank, and Wealth Management. The Corporate Bank segment offers commercial banking services, such as commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and investor real estate lending; equipment lease financing; deposit products; and securities underwriting and placement, loan syndication and placement, foreign exchange, derivatives, merger and acquisition, and other advisory services.

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