HighTower Advisors LLC Has $6.07 Million Stock Holdings in KeyCorp $KEY

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in KeyCorp by 60.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 293,969 shares valued at about $6.07 million.
• KeyCorp reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.44 versus the $0.41 estimate and revenue of $1.95 billion, while revenue rose 10.2% year over year.
• The bank announced a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share and approved a $3 billion stock buyback, signaling continued capital returns to shareholders.

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Free Report) by 60.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 293,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 110,594 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in KeyCorp were worth $6,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEY. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in KeyCorp by 90.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,370,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $679,768,000 after purchasing an additional 17,245,128 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 13,067,326 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in KeyCorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,683,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in KeyCorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,969,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in KeyCorp by 39.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,856,534 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $128,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945,368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on KEY. Susquehanna increased their price target on KeyCorp from $300.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $24.50 to $22.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 22,826 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.66, for a total value of $494,411.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KeyCorp Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of KeyCorp stock opened at $21.50 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $21.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.64. The company has a market cap of $23.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.06. 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 has a 1 year low of $15.47 and a 1 year high of $23.34.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. KeyCorp had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 10.80%. KeyCorp's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be given a $0.205 dividend. 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 approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 13% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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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