Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 397,523 Shares of KeyCorp $KEY

Key Points

• Franklin Resources increased its stake in KeyCorp by 2.6%, buying 397,523 shares to hold 15,799,619 shares (about 1.45%) valued at roughly $295.3M.
• KeyCorp beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.41 vs. $0.39) and reported revenue of $5.45B, up 131.8% year‑over‑year, with analysts forecasting about 1.5 EPS for the year.
• KeyCorp declared a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share (annualized $0.82, yield 4.3%, ex-dividend March 3) while insiders sold 161,506 shares in the past 90 days.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Free Report) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,799,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 397,523 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.45% of KeyCorp worth $295,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

KeyCorp Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:KEY opened at $19.22 on Friday. KeyCorp has a one year low of $12.73 and a one year high of $23.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 10.28% and a net margin of 15.97%.KeyCorp's quarterly revenue was up 131.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that KeyCorp will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. KeyCorp's payout ratio is presently 53.95%.

Insider Activity at KeyCorp

In other KeyCorp news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 62,850 shares of KeyCorp 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 transaction, the insider owned 261,415 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,633,493.25. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Trina M. Evans sold 32,695 shares of KeyCorp 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 transaction, the director directly owned 58,719 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,551.06. This represents a 35.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 161,506 shares of company stock worth $3,597,481. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on KEY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on KeyCorp from $22.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Stephens raised their target price on KeyCorp from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of KeyCorp in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Twelve 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KeyCorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.03.

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.

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