7,302,445 Shares in KeyCorp $KEY Bought by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. opened a new position in KeyCorp during the fourth quarter, buying 7.3 million shares valued at about $150.8 million. The stake represented roughly 0.67% of the company.
• KeyCorp reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.44 versus the $0.41 estimate and revenue of $1.95 billion, up 10.2% from a year earlier.
• The bank also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share and a new $3 billion share buyback program, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy overall.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,302,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $150,843,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned approximately 0.67% of KeyCorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in KeyCorp by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 240,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,971,000 after buying an additional 42,193 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in KeyCorp by 592.3% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 29,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 25,451 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in KeyCorp by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 80,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 9,489 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in KeyCorp by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,983,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $493,048,000 after purchasing an additional 115,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in KeyCorp by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 14,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 2,605 shares in the last quarter. 79.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KeyCorp Price Performance

KeyCorp stock opened at $21.33 on Friday. KeyCorp has a 12-month low of $15.47 and a 12-month high of $23.34. The stock has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03. KeyCorp had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. KeyCorp's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 2nd. KeyCorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.31%.

KeyCorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 13% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on KEY. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of KeyCorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KeyCorp news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 22,826 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 281,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,098,676.24. This trade represents a 7.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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