The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stock Holdings in KeyCorp $KEY

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) by 2.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,928,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 54,552 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in KeyCorp were worth $38,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of KeyCorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of KeyCorp in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in KeyCorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at KeyCorp

In other news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 22,826 shares of KeyCorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.66, for a total transaction of $494,411.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 281,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,098,676.24. The trade was a 7.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KEY. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of KeyCorp from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of KeyCorp in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of KeyCorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KeyCorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.14.

KeyCorp Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of KEY opened at $22.61 on Friday. KeyCorp has a 52 week low of $16.47 and a 52 week high of $24.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.63.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. KeyCorp had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 17.83%.KeyCorp’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KeyCorp will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

KeyCorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 13% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. KeyCorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.67%.

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.