Legal & General Group Plc Trims Stake in KeyCorp $KEY

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its KeyCorp stake by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, though it still held about 5.67 million shares valued at roughly $117.1 million.
• KeyCorp reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $0.44 EPS versus $0.41 expected and revenue of $1.95 billion versus $1.93 billion expected, with revenue up 10.2% year over year.
• The bank announced a quarterly dividend of $0.205 per share and launched a $3 billion share buyback program, signaling confidence in its stock and returning capital to shareholders.

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,672,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 75,850 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.52% of KeyCorp worth $117,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in KeyCorp during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. United Community Bank purchased a new position in KeyCorp during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in KeyCorp during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in KeyCorp by 1,263.5% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,718 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in KeyCorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. 79.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KEY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on KeyCorp from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on KeyCorp from $24.50 to $22.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on KeyCorp from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Susquehanna increased their target price on KeyCorp from $300.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on KeyCorp from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.78.

KeyCorp Stock Down 0.8%

KeyCorp stock opened at $21.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.06. KeyCorp has a 1-year low of $15.47 and a 1-year high of $23.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.66.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 10.80% and a net margin of 17.03%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that KeyCorp will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 given a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. KeyCorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.31%.

KeyCorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 13% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at KeyCorp

In other 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 sale, the insider owned 281,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,098,676.24. This trade represents a 7.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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