KeyCorp $KEY Shares Sold by Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. reduced its position in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,060,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 98,479 shares during the quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in KeyCorp were worth $21,890,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 2.7% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 2,013,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,641,000 after purchasing an additional 53,682 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the third quarter worth $2,253,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 5,317.0% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,350,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,325,588 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 31.0% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 471,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,821,000 after purchasing an additional 111,753 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 797.9% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 897,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,526,000 after purchasing an additional 797,599 shares during the period. 79.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on KEY shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on KeyCorp from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded KeyCorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on KeyCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on KeyCorp from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 22,826 shares of KeyCorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.66, for a total transaction of $494,411.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 281,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,098,676.24. This trade represents a 7.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

KeyCorp Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of KEY stock opened at $22.67 on Friday. KeyCorp has a fifty-two week low of $15.59 and a fifty-two week high of $23.34. The stock has a market cap of $24.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 17.03%.The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that KeyCorp will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 2nd. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.31%.

KeyCorp announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 13% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, that operates through its primary banking subsidiary, KeyBank. It provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market companies and large corporations. KeyBank’s offerings span traditional deposit and lending products as well as more specialized financial solutions designed for commercial and institutional clients.

The company’s product and service mix includes retail banking products such as checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential mortgage lending, and auto financing.