KeyCorp $KEY Shares Sold by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Diamond Hill Capital Management cut its KeyCorp stake by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, selling about 1.4 million shares and leaving it with 10.7 million shares worth roughly $221.1 million.
• KeyCorp recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.44 versus $0.41 expected and revenue of $1.95 billion versus $1.93 billion estimated. The company also said revenue rose 10.2% year over year.
• The board approved a $3 billion share repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 3.8%.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Free Report) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,712,524 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,398,823 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.98% of KeyCorp worth $221,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KEY. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 90.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,370,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $679,768,000 after acquiring an additional 17,245,128 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 169.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,788,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,546,000 after acquiring an additional 13,067,326 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of KeyCorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $66,683,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of KeyCorp in the 4th quarter worth about $55,969,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,856,534 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $128,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,945,368 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 22,826 shares of KeyCorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.66, for a total value of $494,411.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 281,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,098,676.24. The trade was a 7.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KEY. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $24.50 to $22.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock 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 stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.78.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

Shares of KEY opened at $21.49 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $20.85 and its 200-day moving average is $20.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.06. 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 has a 12-month low of $15.28 and a 12-month 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 company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. KeyCorp had a net margin of 17.03% and a return on equity of 10.80%. The business's revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

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

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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