KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Shares Purchased by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Free Report) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 359,714 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,571 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in KeyCorp were worth $6,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 12,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in shares of KeyCorp during the fourth quarter worth about $169,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 30,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 7,497 shares during the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in shares of KeyCorp during the fourth quarter worth about $248,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 132,489 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 8,067 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 issued reports on KEY. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on KeyCorp from $18.50 to $16.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Baird R W raised KeyCorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI set a $17.00 price target on KeyCorp in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KeyCorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.92.

KeyCorp Stock Performance

NYSE KEY traded down $0.21 on Tuesday, hitting $16.28. 10,531,305 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,943,577. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $15.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.88. KeyCorp has a fifty-two week low of $12.73 and a fifty-two week high of $20.04. The firm has a market cap of $17.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.08.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. KeyCorp had a positive return on equity of 8.73% and a negative net margin of 2.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. KeyCorp's dividend payout ratio is currently -482.35%.

KeyCorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Carlton L. Highsmith sold 5,000 shares of KeyCorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.60, for a total transaction of $83,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 37,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at $617,138.20. The trade was a 11.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mohit Ramani bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.75 per share, for a total transaction of $137,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $137,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

KeyCorp Profile

KeyCorp operates as the holding company for KeyBank National Association that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer Bank and Commercial Bank. The company offers various deposits, investment products and services; commercial leasing, investment management, consumer finance; and personal finance and financial wellness, student loan refinancing, mortgage and home equity, lending, credit card, treasury, business advisory, wealth management, asset management, cash management, portfolio management, and trust and related services to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses.