Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Position in KeyCorp $KEY

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon increased its KeyCorp stake by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, ending with 5.6 million shares valued at about $115.6 million. Other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions, and hedge funds and institutions now own 79.69% of the stock.
• KeyCorp reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.44 versus estimates of $0.41 and revenue of $1.95 billion, up 10.2% year over year. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $42.78.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share and authorized a $3 billion share buyback program, signaling confidence in the stock’s valuation. Separately, insider Angela G. Mago sold 22,826 shares in May.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,602,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 721,421 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.51% of KeyCorp worth $115,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 172,528 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,561,000 after buying an additional 14,791 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in KeyCorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $623,000. Rothschild Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in KeyCorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in KeyCorp by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 32,037 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 114.4% during the 4th quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 38,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 20,413 shares during the period. 79.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $300.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $24.50 to $22.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of KeyCorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.78.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $494,411.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 281,564 shares in the company, valued at $6,098,676.24. This represents a 7.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KeyCorp Price Performance

Shares of KeyCorp stock opened at $21.81 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.81. KeyCorp has a 12 month low of $15.59 and a 12 month high of $23.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that KeyCorp will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

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

KeyCorp declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 13% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors 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.

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