Ascent Group LLC Has $929,000 Stock Position in KeyCorp $KEY

Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) by 231.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,408 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in KeyCorp were worth $929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in KeyCorp by 90.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,370,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $679,768,000 after purchasing an additional 17,245,128 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in KeyCorp by 169.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 20,788,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $388,546,000 after purchasing an additional 13,067,326 shares during the last quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in KeyCorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $86,995,000. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in KeyCorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,683,000. Finally, Azora Capital LP lifted its stake in KeyCorp by 131.4% in the 2nd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 5,369,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $93,528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,049,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at KeyCorp

In related news, Director Trina M. Evans sold 32,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.74, for a total value of $710,789.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 58,719 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,551.06. The trade was a 35.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Paine III sold 65,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 166,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,869,723.09. This trade represents a 28.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 161,506 shares of company stock worth $3,597,481 in the last ninety days. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KeyCorp Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of KEY opened at $20.61 on Wednesday. KeyCorp has a 52 week low of $12.80 and a 52 week high of $23.34. The firm has a market cap of $22.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.76. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. KeyCorp had a net margin of 15.97% and a return on equity of 10.28%. KeyCorp’s quarterly revenue was up 131.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.30 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that KeyCorp will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. KeyCorp’s payout ratio is 53.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of KeyCorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on KeyCorp from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of KeyCorp in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on KeyCorp from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on KeyCorp from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.61.

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.