Ethic Inc. Acquires 27,855 Shares of KeyCorp $KEY

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has increased its stake in KeyCorp by 12.7%, now owning 246,720 shares valued at approximately $3.9 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on KeyCorp, with UBS upgrading the stock from "neutral" to "buy" and raising the price target to $22, while others have downgraded it to "hold."
• KeyCorp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share, with an upcoming payment date on September 15th, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.5%.

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Free Report) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 246,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 27,855 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in KeyCorp were worth $3,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 105.7% in the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 659,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,387,000 after buying an additional 338,938 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,201,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $179,084,000 after buying an additional 319,019 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 14,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 1,771 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 486.2% in the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 234,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,747,000 after buying an additional 194,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 120,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,926,000 after buying an additional 3,326 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.69% of the company's stock.

KeyCorp Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE KEY traded down $0.0750 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $18.1450. The company's stock had a trading volume of 25,552,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,263,184. The stock has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -259.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. KeyCorp has a one year low of $12.73 and a one year high of $20.04. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $17.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.50.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. KeyCorp had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KeyCorp will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. KeyCorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,171.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Amy G. Brady sold 19,000 shares of KeyCorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.09, for a total value of $305,710.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 82,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,327,795.07. This trade represents a 18.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher M. Gorman sold 112,149 shares of KeyCorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.86, for a total transaction of $2,115,130.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 619,895 shares in the company, valued at $11,691,219.70. This trade represents a 15.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $2,738,230. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on KEY shares. Baird R W cut shares of KeyCorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI set a $17.00 target price on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group upgraded shares of KeyCorp from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird cut shares of KeyCorp from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $18.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KeyCorp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.39.

KeyCorp Company 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.