MML Investors Services LLC Grows Holdings in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF)

MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in Regions Financial Co. (NYSE:RF - Free Report) by 29.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 92,518 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 20,849 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Regions Financial were worth $2,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in Regions Financial by 122.9% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,150 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Regions Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in Regions Financial by 2,354.9% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,252 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Regions Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Regions Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reduced their price target on Regions Financial from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Regions Financial from $29.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Regions Financial from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Regions Financial

In related news, Director Joia M. Johnson bought 2,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.18 per share, for a total transaction of $48,714.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at $370,353.48. This trade represents a 15.15 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Regions Financial Stock Up 2.6 %

RF traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.05. The company had a trading volume of 5,370,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,097,189. The company has a market capitalization of $19.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $20.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Regions Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $17.72 and a 52 week high of $27.96.

Regions Financial (NYSE:RF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Regions Financial had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 20.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Regions Financial Co. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Regions Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. Regions Financial's payout ratio is 48.08%.

Regions Financial Company Profile

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.