ABC Arbitrage SA Acquires New Position in KeyCorp $KEY

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 180,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,369,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in KeyCorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $476,000. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in KeyCorp by 41.4% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 84,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,346,000 after buying an additional 24,627 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in KeyCorp by 6.3% in the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 45,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,000 after buying an additional 2,704 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in shares of KeyCorp by 22.0% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 33,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 5,980 shares during the period. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of KeyCorp during the second quarter worth about $276,000. 79.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KeyCorp News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting KeyCorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on KEY from $22.00 to $24.50 and kept a “neutral” rating, signaling modest upside and providing support for the recent rally. JPMorgan price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Activist HoldCo said it will not pursue proxy fights at KeyCorp after the bank agreed to key changes, removing a governance overhang and reducing activist-driven uncertainty. Activist HoldCo backs off
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBank expanded its middle‑market capabilities by adding a five‑person family office and private capital team led by Ward Nixon, highlighting strategic growth initiatives in higher‑margin commercial banking. KeyBank family office hire
• Positive Sentiment: Observers flagged KeyCorp reaching a new 1‑year high after analyst coverage improvements, a driver of recent momentum but also of near‑term profit taking. KeyCorp reaches new 1-year high
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at recent industry conferences (UBS and Bank of America); transcripts are available — useful for investors who want updated management commentary on strategy, capital deployment and loan growth, but they contained no headline surprises. UBS presentation BofA transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Insider Andrew J. Paine III sold 65,961 shares at an average price of $23.23 (about $1.53M), reducing his stake by ~28%. Large insider selling can trigger near‑term selling pressure and raise investor caution even if disclosed as routine. Insider sale disclosure

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KEY. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of KeyCorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore boosted their price objective on KeyCorp from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on KeyCorp from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KeyCorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.03.

KeyCorp Trading Down 0.3%

KeyCorp stock opened at $22.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.10. KeyCorp has a 1 year low of $12.73 and a 1 year high of $23.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 10.28% and a net margin of 15.97%.The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. KeyCorp’s revenue was up 131.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that KeyCorp will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. KeyCorp’s payout ratio is currently 53.95%.

Insider Activity at KeyCorp

In other news, Director Trina M. Evans sold 32,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.74, for a total transaction of $710,789.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 58,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,551.06. This trade represents a 35.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Paine III sold 65,961 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.23, for a total value of $1,532,274.03. Following the transaction, the insider owned 166,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,869,723.09. This trade represents a 28.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 161,506 shares of company stock valued at $3,597,481. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KeyCorp Company Profile

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.