Sapient Capital LLC Sells 232,629 Shares of KeyCorp $KEY

Sapient Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) by 22.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 808,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 232,629 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in KeyCorp were worth $16,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in shares of KeyCorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in KeyCorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in KeyCorp during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in KeyCorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KeyCorp during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KEY. Argus upgraded KeyCorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered KeyCorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of KeyCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $22.50 to $24.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KeyCorp news, insider Angela G. Mago sold 22,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.66, for a total transaction of $494,411.16. Following the sale, the insider owned 281,564 shares in the company, valued at $6,098,676.24. This trade represents a 7.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KeyCorp Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of KeyCorp stock opened at $22.61 on Monday. KeyCorp has a 1 year low of $16.47 and a 1 year high of $24.07. The firm has a market cap of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.64.

KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. KeyCorp had a net margin of 17.83% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Analysts expect that KeyCorp will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KeyCorp Announces Dividend

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

KeyCorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.