Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 96,388 Shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in Regions Financial Corporation by 6.4%, acquiring an additional 96,388 shares, bringing its total ownership to 1,594,721 shares valued at approximately $34.7 million.
• Regions Financial's quarterly dividend will increase to $0.265 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.06 and a dividend yield of 4.3%, payable on October 1st.
• Recent analyst reports have resulted in a range of price target upgrades for Regions Financial, with an average target of $27.33 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" based on various ratings from multiple research firms.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,594,721 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 96,388 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Regions Financial worth $34,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Regions Financial by 637.3% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,224 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,876 shares of the bank's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,346 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Regions Financial by 181.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,225 shares of the bank's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 2,078 shares during the period. 79.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Regions Financial news, EVP David R. Keenan sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total transaction of $750,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 90,915 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on RF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Regions Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Regions Financial in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.33.

Regions Financial Price Performance

RF stock opened at $24.92 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.59. The company has a market capitalization of $22.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01. Regions Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.74 and a 52-week high of $27.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 13.08% and a net margin of 21.81%. Regions Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Regions Financial Corporation will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Regions Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. This is a positive change from Regions Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Regions Financial's dividend payout ratio is 46.51%.

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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