Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 115,968 Shares of KeyCorp $KEY

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,983,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,968 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in KeyCorp were worth $493,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KEY. United Community Bank bought a new position in KeyCorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Maseco LLP bought a new position in KeyCorp in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in KeyCorp in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new position in KeyCorp in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in KeyCorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at KeyCorp

In other news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 22,826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,098,676.24. This represents a 7.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KEY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $300.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered KeyCorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on KeyCorp from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KeyCorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.78.

KeyCorp Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEY opened at $21.33 on Monday. KeyCorp has a fifty-two week low of $15.47 and a fifty-two week high of $23.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.03.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. KeyCorp’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 13% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be given a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. KeyCorp’s payout ratio is 50.31%.

KeyCorp Profile

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.