Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in KeyCorp $KEY

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors cut its KeyCorp stake by 20.1% in Q3, selling 969,480 shares and retaining 3,857,926 shares (about $72.1M), with KeyCorp still the fund's largest holding at 1.7% of its portfolio.
• Other institutions added heavily—Capital World Investors increased its position to 20,788,957 shares (an additional 13,067,326 shares)—and institutional ownership of KeyCorp stands at 79.69%.
• KeyCorp beat Q4 EPS estimates with $0.41, declared a quarterly dividend of $0.205 (annualized yield ~4.2%), and has a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target of $23.03.

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Free Report) by 20.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,857,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 969,480 shares during the quarter. KeyCorp comprises 1.7% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.35% of KeyCorp worth $72,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its position in KeyCorp by 169.2% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,788,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $388,546,000 after buying an additional 13,067,326 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of KeyCorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $195,642,000. HoldCo Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of KeyCorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $86,995,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of KeyCorp by 123.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,182,671 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $125,122,000 after purchasing an additional 3,967,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP grew its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 131.4% in the 2nd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 5,369,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $93,528,000 after buying an additional 3,049,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 62,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.55, for a total transaction of $1,354,417.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 261,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,633,493.25. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Trina M. Evans sold 32,695 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.74, for a total transaction of $710,789.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 58,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,276,551.06. This represents a 35.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 161,506 shares of company stock valued at $3,597,481. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on KEY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on KeyCorp from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $19.00 price objective on shares of KeyCorp and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Stephens upped their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KeyCorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.03.

KeyCorp Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of KeyCorp stock opened at $19.70 on Tuesday. KeyCorp has a twelve month low of $12.73 and a twelve month high of $23.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company's 50 day moving average is $21.42 and its 200 day moving average is $19.67. The company has a market cap of $21.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.08.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. KeyCorp had a net margin of 15.97% and a return on equity of 10.28%. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 131.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. KeyCorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 53.95%.

KeyCorp Company 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.

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