KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) Stake Lessened by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) by 97.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,558,156 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in KeyCorp were worth $978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of KeyCorp by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 116,932,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,004,228,000 after buying an additional 7,754,576 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 44,431,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $761,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,938,405 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of KeyCorp by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 36,302,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $622,229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,645,296 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of KeyCorp by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 33,058,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $566,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of KeyCorp by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,183,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $465,929,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062,615 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KEY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Baird R W raised shares of KeyCorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KeyCorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.92.

KeyCorp Price Performance

Shares of KEY opened at $15.99 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -94.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.09. KeyCorp has a fifty-two week low of $12.73 and a fifty-two week high of $20.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average is $15.45 and its 200-day moving average is $16.43.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. KeyCorp had a positive return on equity of 9.43% and a negative net margin of 0.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.13%. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio is -482.35%.

KeyCorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, March 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Amy G. Brady sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.09, for a total value of $305,710.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 82,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,327,795.07. This represents a 18.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mohit Ramani acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.75 per share, for a total transaction of $137,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $137,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About KeyCorp

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.